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Striving together for more influence on the world stage: Olaf Scholz and Lula da Silva
Photo: Kay Nietfeld / dpa
Germany and Brazil are insisting on a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and are striving for an expansion of the highest UN body.
A joint statement with Brazilian President Lula da Silva, adopted during Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to Brasília on Monday, states that the UN is seen as playing a central role in world peace and security and in its commitment to reforming and expanding the Security Council want to strengthen.
"They pledged mutual support for permanent seats on an expanded Security Council," it said.
Government consultations planned for 2023
Scholz and Lula are thus taking up earlier joint efforts by Germany, Brazil, India and Japan (G4).
The federal government would also like to hold intergovernmental consultations with Brazil in the second half of 2023.
Greater cooperation is sought, for example in the fight against climate change and poverty.
The Development Ministry had previously announced that it was launching a €200 million emergency program for forest protection in Brazil.
Even before his trip to Argentina, Chile and Brazil, Scholz had said that Germany had to pay more attention to important emerging and industrialized countries in the southern hemisphere.
Scholz was the first foreign head of state to visit Lula since he took office.
The Chancellor said at the joint press conference that he was delighted with Brazil's return to the world stage.
Other Western countries are also trying to normalize relations with Brazil, which were practically frozen under Lula's predecessor, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
In the statement, both G20 countries condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine and the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories as "flagrant violations of international law".
However, Lula refused military aid to Ukraine.
Lula did not want to comply with Scholz's request to pass on tank ammunition to Ukraine.
"Brazil has no interest in passing on the ammunition to be used in the Ukraine-Russia war," he said at a joint press conference.
“Brazil is a land of peace.
And that's why Brazil doesn't want any involvement in this war, not even indirectly."
muk/Reuters/dpa