São Paulo – Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva restated on Thursday (30), at the 17th African Union Summit, in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, that Brazil aims to cooperate with the development of Africa, especially in the areas of energy and agriculture. ANBA informed on Wednesday that Lula would address the meeting on Friday, as informed by his press department, but in truth he has engagements in Angola on Friday.
“Brazil’s availability to cooperate with the development of [African] infrastructure is complete, especially in the generation of electric energy from hydroelectric power plants and also in the transfer of technology for production of ethanol and of electric energy from biomass,” said Lula, who participated in the event as a guest and as a representative of his successor in the presidency of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff. The complete address was made available by the former president’s advisory.
He pointed out that the African continent is growing fast and that the middle class in the region rose from 111 million people to 310 million people in 30 years, “with an accelerated process of urbanisation that will require more energy infrastructure, sanitation, housing and transport”.
The former president added that “Brazil is interested in sharing its technology in the area of agriculture, both entrepreneurial and also in family farming.” In his term in office, the country released initiatives in this respect. “Relations with Africa are strategic for Brazil,” he said.
On discussing the efforts for closer ties during his terms in office, Lula pointed out that trade between Brazil and Africa rose from US$ 5 billion in 2002 to US$ 20.5 billion in 2010.
Regarding the summit, whose theme is "Youth empowerment for sustainable development”, the former president said that it is “very useful, especially because 60% of the African population is under 25 years of age and the continent is living a rapid urbanisation process.”
To Lula, it is necessary to “treat youth not as a problem, but as a solution”. He pointed out the success of youth policies promoted in his government and added that, according to a research by the Political Innovation Foundation of France, in 25 countries, “Brazilian youth is the second most optimistic in the world with regard to its own future”.
“Youngsters have unique imagination and their own objective and subjective needs, which should be contemplated by specific public policies, guaranteeing them rights and opportunities,” said the former president. “Their capacity (of youths) for mobilisation regarding great causes for progress and justice is unequalled,” he added.
It is worth recalling that youth protests culminated in the ousting, this year, of the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt and in the conflict that is taking place in Libya, all countries in North Africa.
Reforms
Lula returned to defending reforms in multilateral organisations, especially in the UN Security Council. “Developing nations must increase their participation in the guiding of multilateral organisations. Without that, there will be effective change and greater crises will be inevitable,” he said, recalling the recent international financial crisis.
To him, it is not acceptable that Africa and South America do not have permanent seats in the Security Council. Brazil has been calling for one of these posts. “We need a UN capable of negotiating a cease fire and a peaceful exit to the Libyan crisis,” he said.
In this respect, the former president thanked the African nations for the support to the Brazilian José Graziano da Silva for director general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), last Sunday. Graziano was the Food Safety minister in Lula’s first term in office.
“This was a restatement of South-South cooperation, essential to fight the lack of food safety that still affects one billion people all over the world,” he said. “Graziano’s election is a victory for developing nations in recognition of the growing part they play in a more and more multipolar world,” he added.
*Translated by Mark Ament
