President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Prime Minister of Germany, Friedrich Merz, met, this Saturday (22), in Johannesburg, South Africa, where participate in the G20 Leaders Summit – group of the largest economies in the world. After the unease over Merz’s statement about Belém (PA), the leaders agreed to strengthen relations between Brazil and Germany.
“In the bilateral agenda, Lula and Merz agreed to strengthen the commercial, social, cultural and technological relationship between the two countries, remembering the close ties since the beginning of German migration to Brazil in the 19th century”, says a statement from Palácio do Planalto about the meeting.
At the invitation of the German Chancellor, President Lula confirmed his trip to Hannover, Germany, in April 2026, to participate in the opening of the “largest industrial technology fair in the world”, which will have Brazil as a partner country. Lula also invited Merz to make a state visit to Brazil.
At this Saturday’s meeting, the German Prime Minister also reiterated his support for the Brazilian initiative to create the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), an environmental preservation initiative launched by Brazil at the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30). THE country announced contribution of 1 billion euros in the TFFF.
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After participating in the COP30 Leaders’ Summit in Belém at the beginning of this month, Merz publicly said that Germany is one of the “most beautiful countries in the world” and that the members of the delegation “were happy to be back from that place”.
Lula defended the state and said that Berlin, the capital of Germany, does not offer 10% of the quality that Pará offers.
“He, in fact, should have gone to a bar in Pará, should have danced in Pará, should have tried the cuisine of Pará. Because he would realize that Berlin does not offer him 10% of the quality that the state of Pará, the city of Belém, offers,” said Lula at an event in the interior of the statelast Tuesday (18).
“And I said all the time: ‘eat the maniçoba, man’”, added the president in reference to the typical dish of Pará cuisine made from cassava leaves.
After the repercussions, a spokesperson for the German government said that Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s speech about Belém was taken out of context and referred to the fatigue of the delegation. “The comment essentially referred to the delegation’s desire, after a very tiring night flight and a long day in Belém, to also start the return journey,” he said.
*With information from Reuters news agency
