Lula wants Brazil to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday (Oct. 24) that Brazil is working to become a full member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He is traveling in the region and seeking closer political ties with the countries and the possibility of expanding Brazilian trade to reach a market of 680 million people.
“Brazil’s working to become a full member of ASEAN. Brazil must believe in its economy. We’re experiencing a good economic moment in Brazil. […] And that’s why I continue to travel to see if we can increase our trade balance, our dollar reserves, our investments abroad, and attract new investments to Brazil,” he declared.
The statement was made after a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Brazil is the only Latin American country to maintain a Sectoral Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN, established in 2023, with initiatives for political coordination and multisectoral cooperation.
Lula also invited the ASEAN president to participate in the Leaders’ Summit of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in the Amazon city of Belém, Pará state, on November 6 and 7. The Asian association will have a pavilion at COP30 and plans to create a negotiating group as part of the climate conference in Brazil.
Lula then traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There, his schedule includes participation in the ASEAN summit and the East Asia Summit (EAS), as well as a meeting with US President Donald Trump. This will be the first time a Brazilian head of state has participated in this summit.
Founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, ASEAN is a regional organization that promotes economic, political, security, and sociocultural cooperation between its 11 member countries.
