President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, early this Saturday morning (25), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that One of the world’s problems is the lack of leadership to contain wars and hunger.
“In the absence of leadership, the worst can happen,” said the president.
At the event with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, in which he celebrated partnerships with the Asian country, Lula criticized the war between Ukraine and Russia and the conflict in the Middle East, which he once again called genocide against Palestine.
Lula argued that these Conflicts and environmental disasters have occurred due to a lack of global governance instruments. “Today, the UN Security Council and the UN no longer function. All the wars in recent times were determined by people who are part of the UN Security Council”, he lamented.
“Who can accept the duration of the war between Ukraine and Russia? Who can accept a genocide carried out in the Gaza Strip for so long?”, he asked.
He pointed out that violence goes beyond shooting and bombs. “But the violence of using hunger, a child’s desire to eat, as a form of torture. When we accept this as normal, we are not being human beings”, he criticized. He argued that this is because multilateral institutions have “ceased to exist.”
The president attacked countries’ lack of responsibility for the environment. “How are we going to prevent the planet from being destroyed, if we know what is destroying the planet and do not take action to prevent it from being destroyed?”, asked Lula, stating that COP30, in Belém, will be the COP of truth.
“We, political leaders, are the ones who have to make the decision on what to do. There comes a time when we have to think about the planet. And that’s when we need to have global governance instruments. And that’s what we need today.”
Partnership
During his visit to Malaysia, Lula said that the partnership exceeds the commercial interest between the two countries. There is a turnover of exports and imports worth around US$5.8 billion per year. He highlighted the cooperation agreements in the area of science and technology and lamented that no Brazilian president had been to the country in the last 30 years.
“Brazil’s relationship with Malaysia changes levels from today onwards. I didn’t come here just with the interest of selling or the interest of buying. We have the possibility of changing the world, of making things better.”
The president defended that humanism should not be defeated by algorithms and said that the world needs peace and not war, free trade and not protectionism. “I want to tell the world that we need more food and less weapons. That’s the purpose of my visit to Malaysia.”
Lula once again defended the role of the State in helping the poorest.
“Governing is making choices, it’s deciding which side you’re on. For a ruler, holding your head high is more important than a Nobel Prize. Taking care of the humblest people is almost a biblical mission.”
The Prime Minister of Malaysia congratulated the Brazilian president who will receive the title of honorary doctor from the National University of Malaysia, in an event that should take place this Saturday. Anwar Ibrahim also highlighted Lula’s leadership role. “This is a meeting between friends who share convictions and ideas. And I am sure that our countries will work together as partners in different areas.”
