Global Courant 2023-05-29 23:28:31
MEXICO CITY
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva welcomed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday, marking Maduro’s first visit to Brazil since 2015.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived in Brasilia on Sunday, ahead of the Latin America summit scheduled for Tuesday.
Diplomatic relations between Venezuela and South America’s powerhouse have strained significantly since Jair Bolsonaro took power in 2019. Bolsonaro issued a decree banning Maduro from entering the country and expressed his support for self-proclaimed opposition leader Juan Guaido.
After Lula’s victory in the 2022 election, there has been a dramatic change in the diplomatic approach towards Venezuela. Lula sent Maduro an invitation to attend the inauguration ceremony in January 2023, ending the ban on Maduro.
President Lula expressed his enthusiasm for Maduro’s visit, considering it a historic moment, on Twitter. He expressed his enthusiasm for re-establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with the Venezuelan government.
“Our trade relations once had a flow of 6 billion dollars. Today it is 2 billion. This is bad for Venezuela and Brazil. But the relations between our countries can also be in cultural, economic, scientific and technology exchange, commercial relations.” The fight against drug trafficking on our borders,” Lula wrote.
Maduro also applauded the resumption of bilateral relations between the countries.
“My meeting with President @LulaOficial constitutes a historic, transcendent truth and a victory for the dignity of our peoples. The recovery and revitalization of unity between Brazil and Venezuela is the right path that will lead us to the development and integration of the country. Great Homeland,” Maduro tweeted.
The South American Leaders’ Summit will be held on Tuesday at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia. The presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela have confirmed their presence.
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