MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula headed for G20 Summit

The Brazilian leader will receive the group's rotating presidency of the group on Sunday

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his entourage are due in New Delhi later Friday to participate in this coming weekend's Summit of G20 leaders, during which he is expected to deliver three speeches and take over the group's pro tempore presidency.

According to the Planalto Palace, the South American leader will focus on the environment, peace between Russia and Ukraine, greater participation by developing countries in bodies such as the United Nations Security Council, reducing inequality, and fighting hunger.

There will be two sessions on Saturday and a closing meeting on Sunday - when Lula will receive the G20 presidency from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Brazil's mandate will run for a year, with over a hundred technical meetings of 20 ministers, and will end in a summit of the bloc's leaders on Nov. 18 and 19, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's rotating presidency of G20 begins officially on Dec. 1, 2023.

As president of the G20, Lula will have to build consensus and seek balance in a world polarized between the United States and China, which will give the South American giant more international visibility.

While in Delhi, Lula is expected to have one-on-one encounters with French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Ministers Modi and Mark Rutte (of the Netherlands).

With Macron, the conversation should focus on the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Lula has already announced that Brazil's response to threats of trade retaliation against the South American bloc for environmental reasons has been forwarded to the EU. France is one of the countries most resistant to freeing trade between the two blocs.

Lula will also take part in two thematic meetings on Saturday. The first will be the “One Planet” panel, which will deal with sustainable development, energy transition, climate change, environmental preservation, and carbon emissions. The second panel, “One Family”, will address issues such as inclusive growth, progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), education, health, and women-led development.

The third session of the summit, entitled “One Future”, is scheduled for Sunday. The panel will focus on technological transformation, digital public infrastructure, multilateral reforms, and the future of work and employment.

Following the third meeting, there will be a handover ceremony for the G20 presidency. Modi will speak about India's presidency in 2023 and Lula will outline his guidelines for the coming year.

The G20 is made up of South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, the United States, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Russia, Turkey and the European Union. Also invited to this summit are Bangladesh, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Mauritius, Nigeria, Oman, the Netherlands, and Singapore.