Lula, Macron talk about democracy and environment on phone call
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday (Jan. 26) received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron. The conversation lasted more than an hour, and both addressed a range of issues, such as climate change and threats to democracy by actions of extremist groups, reported the Planalto presidential palace.
"Both heads of state agreed on the risks hanging over democracy due to violent actions of extreme right-wing groups. In this context, they discussed the importance of combating disinformation."
Lula invited Macron to visit Itaguaí shipyard in Rio de Janeiro, where conventional submarines and the nuclear-powered submarine are being built, as a result of a cooperation agreement between France and Brazil, the presidential palace informed.
Environment
Concerning the environmental area, Lula talked about the objectives of the Summit of the Amazon Countries, which is being organized by Brazil. He took the opportunity to invite France to the event, since the European country has sovereignty over French Guiana, which is part of the Amazon biome.
On the other hand, the French leader reiterated the invitation for Brazil to participate in March in the One Forest Summit, to be hosted by France and Gabon.
With regard to issues of global governance, according to Planalto palace, Lula and Macron talked about the adequacy of new international financing instruments to promote climate transition and fight hunger and inequality. "It was pointed out that India and Brazil, which are holding the presidency of the G20 this and next year, respectively, will play a central role in this debate," the note read.
Another theme addressed on the phone call was the effort to conclude negotiations on the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.
Finally, Lula and Macron discussed about the urgency of seeking peace between Russia and Ukraine. "President Lula stressed the need for greater engagement of global leaders with this goal, within the UN and a political G20," Planalto presidential palace reported.
