German prime minister confirmed to visit Brazil on Jan. 30

Germany’s Ambassador to Brazil Heiko Thoms today (Jan. 20) confirmed that German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz is going to visit Brazil on January 30. The date had been disclosed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but had not been confirmed by official German sources until yesterday.

“The chancellor of Germany has just confirmed he is coming to Brazil on January 30,” the ambassador tweeted.

Scholz’s visit—the second time a German official comes in less than a month—is a “sign of strengthening cooperation” between the two nations, Thoms noted. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attended President Lula’s inauguration ceremony on January 1.

As reported by Agência Brasil yesterday (19), the chancellor should be joined by ministers and representatives of large German companies on his trip.

Amazon Fund

One of Brazil’s most important trade partner, Germany has shown interest in a political rapprochement with Brazil, with more financial resources allocated to environmental preservation projects developed in the country, especially in the Amazon.

When the German president was in Brazil, it was announced that €35 million had been released to the Amazon Fund as compensation for the reduction of deforestation in the Amazon biome during 2017.

Created in 2008, the fund receives donations from international institutions and governments to finance efforts to tackle and monitor deforestation in the Amazon region. For political reasons, the fund was paralyzed during the former President Bolsonaro’s  administration.