Tinubu Arrives in Brazil for Bilateral Talks with President Lula

By Chinedu Echianu

President Bola Tinubu on Monday arrived in Brasília, Brazil, to begin a state visit aimed at deepening Nigeria–Brazil relations across trade, agriculture, defence, and energy cooperation.

A Press Statement made available to newsmen by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) says the President, who flew in from Los Angeles, United States, was received at the Brasília Air Base by senior Brazilian government officials, including Ambassador Carlos Sérgio Sobral Duarte, Secretary for Africa and the Middle East, and Ambassador Carlos José Areias Moreno Garcete, Brazil’s envoy to Nigeria. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, was also at the reception.

Other ministers, heads of key agencies, and private sector leaders later welcomed President Tinubu at his hotel ahead of a series of high-level engagements.

An official welcoming ceremony with full military honours will take place at the Planalto Palace, where President Tinubu will hold a private meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, followed by expanded bilateral discussions. Both leaders are expected to witness the signing of several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and address a joint press conference.

During his visit, President Tinubu will also meet the President of the Brazilian Senate, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, and the President of the Supreme Federal Court. He is scheduled to participate in the Nigeria–Brazil Business Forum later in the day.

Nigeria and Brazil have enjoyed longstanding diplomatic ties dating back to the early 1960s. Brazil was the only Latin American country to attend Nigeria’s independence celebrations in 1960, while Nigeria established its embassy in Brazil in 1966.

The two nations have recently stepped up engagements under the Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue, which was first established in 2013 to promote cooperation in agriculture, trade, defence, energy, and education. The most recent session, held in Abuja in June 2025, produced seven MoUs covering defence, energy, tourism, livestock development, and counternarcotics, among others.

Brazil also remains a key partner in Nigeria’s food security programme. Notably, the $2.5 billion JBS investment signed during the 2024 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brazil is expected to boost local food production and create jobs for Nigerian youth. Similarly, the Green Imperative Programme, a $1.1 billion agricultural mechanisation project launched in 2019, is progressing with plans to supply 10,000 tractors and 50,000 farm equipment units for assembly in Nigeria.

President Tinubu’s visit comes on the heels of several recent high-level exchanges, including his participation at the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro in July and the G20 Summit in Brazil last year. Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and his wife also visited Abuja in June for the Second Session of the Strategic Dialogue.

The visit is expected to consolidate strategic partnerships and open new avenues for cooperation between Africa’s largest economy and Latin America’s largest nation.