MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Italian President lands in Brazil for 5-day visit

Mattarella will be meeting with Lula on Monday

Italian President Sergio Mattarella landed in Brasilia Sunday for a five-day visit to South America's largest country, Agencia Brasil reported. The first visit of an Italian head of state to Brazil in 24 years marks the 150th anniversary of immigration from the European nation. Topping the agenda of talks will be the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), as well as other topics such as climate change and energy transition.

Mattarella is also expected to review with local authorities Brazil's initiative to tax the super-rich, which will be the center theme during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November.

The Italian leader's journey was in reciprocity for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's presence in June as a guest at the G7 Summit, Agencia Brasil also stated.

In addition to Brasilia, Mattarella's itinerary features Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador.

Ties between Brazil and Italy went uneasy in the late 2000s over the extradition of terrorist Cesare Battisti, while the two countries' governments are not on the same page regarding the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

The matter of Brazilians seeking Italian citizenship is also to be reviewed amid the current rapprochement, although talks with Mattarella will be more of a symbolic nature given the Italian president's role in a parliamentary regime. Since 2022, ruling Italy is a rightwing coalition led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which, among other issues, does not support the proposed taxation of the super-rich.

The visiting leader is to meet with Lula on Monday. The following day he is due in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, which hosts a large Italian community, to bring a message of solidarity to the population affected by the floods. The Italian Embassy in Brasilia said over 25 tons of humanitarian aid were contributed to the relief operations.

On Wednesday, the Italian president will be in São Paulo to visit the Museum of Immigration and the organization Arsenal of Hope, managed by the Youth Missionary Service of Turim, which provides aid to the homeless population. Later that day he will meet with about 200 representatives of the local Italian community.

On Thursday, Mattarella will go to Rio de Janeiro, where he will give a speech at the Centro Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (Brazilian Center of International Relations).

His last day in the South American country will feature a stop at the Franciscan Community of Betânia in Salvador.

There are about 1,000 Italian companies in Brazil generating some 150,000 direct jobs. In 2023, Italy ranked 18th among the main foreign investors, according to the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB). Last year, Italian companies invested US$ 319 million in the country, against US$ 2,492 billion from Spanish companies, the fourth largest investor in Brazil in the same period. From January to June of this year, Brazil imported US$ 870.4 million more than it exported to Italy. The European country was the 14th largest destination for Brazilian goods and ranked 6th in imports. Sales to Italy are mainly internationally traded commodities, while imports consist mostly of medicines (veterinary and non-veterinary), vehicle parts and accessories, industrialized products, and machinery.