Riyadh – Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived this Tuesday morning (28) in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, at around 11:00 am AST. At the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Lula is in the country for a bilateral visit accompanied by twelve government authorities. He was received by the deputy governor of Riyadh, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz.
At 6:30 pm AST, Lula headed to a meeting with the kingdom’s crown prince and prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), accompanied by the Saudi Minister of Commerce, Majid bin Abdullah al Qasabi. The Saudi government is paying the costs of the Brazilian delegation’s stay.
This Wednesday (29), two events will occur with the presence of Lula and the Saudi Minister of Investment, Khalid Al Falih. The first will be the Saudi Arabia-Brazil Business Forum organized by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). Lula will participate in the event’s closing and then speak at the Embraer Seminar in the afternoon before traveling to Doha, Qatar.
Investment
Upon the delegation’s arrival at the Ritz-Carlton hotel this morning, Brazil’s chief of Staff of the Presidency, Rui Costa; and ministers of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira; and Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, spoke to the press. They have been in Riyadh for two days and held meetings with Saudi ministers and investment funds.
Costa said that he had meetings with the Saudi Ministers of Investment and Mines and Energy yesterday, and this morning, there were meetings with the state investment fund, which, according to the minister, coordinates the other six investment funds in the country. Costa informed the Saudis already announced they want to invest USD 10 billion in Brazil, and a document was recently drafted by the Saudi Arabian embassy in Brasília with a range of options for implementing this investment.
“Now, on this trip, we will formalize a working group with ministers from both the Brazilian and Saudi governments to materialize these investments, which range from energy – including renewable energy – to food security, food production, and infrastructure,” he said. He also informed the Saudis want Brazilian companies to produce in the Arab country.
According to Costa, the investments announced in 2019 under the previous government – USD 10 billion – were not materialized. “Because there was no monitoring, follow-up, or presentation of options – which is what we are doing now, with the creation of this working group and with this document that we delivered – so the idea is to go back to Brazil with tangible guidelines and solid project announcements to unfold investments. We will also have here the direct participation of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) through [president] Ricardo Alban and FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo) with the president [Josué Gomes], who arrived yesterday and participated in that meeting,” he said.
According to government information, since early 2023, USD 3.8 billion of the announced USD 10 billion have already been invested.
Saudi investments in Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) in infrastructure and energy generation are also expected. “The expectation is for part of this investment to occur through investment funds – they usually participate without necessarily having a major stake in the projects. They could join as partners in both consolidated and, eventually, new projects. Recently, the Arab investment fund participated in the two public highway tenders in Paraná, which we just floated. The proposal included a 20% stake for them. They often contribute to the equity of the business,” said Costa.
Energy
Brazil’s minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, said he is “presenting to them, who have a matrix very dependent on fossil fuels, Brazil’s great potential in renewable energy.”
“We are going to the COP to lead the fair and inclusive energy transition, and we want to advocate for it to become mandatory, as Pope Francis said, so we can protect the planet and, especially in the case of Brazil, generate employment and income opportunities, fight inequality, and achieve social inclusion, which is the main objective of president Lula’s government,” he said.
Silveira informed that a major project will be brought to the 2023 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP28, in Dubai) – Brazil will present to the world its energy matrix, which, according to him, is 88% clean and renewable, and its potential in biofuels, which can help decarbonize transport and urban mobility. He also mentioned the production of green hydrogen through solar and wind energy “to reindustrialize Brazil, generate opportunities, and in the near future, export sustainability, protecting and safeguarding the planet,” he said.
Ports and Airports
Brazil’s minister of Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho, said he is presenting the ministry’s port projects to investors. “We have BRL 50 billion [about USD 10.20 billion at the current rate] for greenfield projects in strategic areas in Brazil. We want to build new ports and improve the flow of Brazilian production, given the growth of agribusiness in Brazil, and Arab investors are showing interest in carrying out port operations in Brazil,” he said.
Costa Filho also said the government is working to bring new airlines to the country to expand the offer of international flights to new destinations. “This year, we will reach 105 million passengers. In the next five years, we can surpass 130 million. For that, we will need more airlines. This is what we are presenting to Saudi Arabia, the possibility of them starting operations in Brazil, which could be very beneficial for the country,” he declared.
The Brazilian presidential delegation includes the chief of Staff of the Presidency, Rui Costa; the ministers of Finance, Fernando Haddad; Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Fávaro; Ports and Airports, Silvio Costa Filho; and Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira; in addition to the presidents of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco; of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Aloizio Mercadante; of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates; and of ApexBrasil, Jorge Viana. The president’s special advisor, ambassador Celso Amorim, and master of ceremonies, ambassador Fernando Igreja, are also part of the delegation, in addition to the secretary for the Middle East and Africa of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Duarte, and the ambassador of Brazil to Riyadh, Sérgio Bath.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
