President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to Kazan, Russia, to participate in the 16th Brics Leaders Summit. The president suffered a fall this Saturday (19) in which he hit his head, receiving five stitches. The assessment of the medical team at Hospital Sírio-Libanês, in Brasília, which treated the president, recommended, as a precaution, avoiding long-distance travel.
According to the hospital’s medical report, the accident was not serious and the president “can carry out his other activities”. Lula suffered a “blunt injury to the occipital region”.
Under the care of doctors Roberto Kalil Filho and Ana Helena Germoglio, the president was advised “to avoid long-distance air travel, while being able to carry out his other activities”. The president remains under the supervision of the medical team.
Boarding for Russia would be today (20), at 5pm. Their participation will now be done via videoconference, informed the Presidency of the Republic.
BRICS
It will be the first meeting with the bloc’s new member countries since the admission of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. The summit runs from October 22nd to 24th.
Despite not having a specific agenda, ambassador Eduardo Paes Saboia, secretary of Asia and the Pacific at Itamaraty, said that the main theme of the meeting should be the creation of a model of adherence to the BRICS by the so-called “partner countries”. A category of participation without the same prerogatives as member countries, with full rights.
“This is what our work is focused on this semester, what are the criteria for this modality, and there is an expectation that, once this modality is approved, an announcement can be made of the countries that would be invited to join this category”, said Saboia.
Among the other topics that should be addressed at the meeting are the Middle East crisis, political and financial operations within the bloc, in addition to the analysis of reports from the New Development Bank (NDB) – commanded by former president Dilma Rousseff -, the Council Brics and Women’s Business Alliance.
The Russian government reported that 32 countries confirmed their presence at the event, with the presence of 24 state leaders. Of the ten member countries of the bloc, eight will have their maximum representatives, with the exception now of the president of Brazil and Saudi Arabia, who will send their minister of Foreign Affairs.
At the meeting, a declaration should also be announced whose content is the strengthening of multilateralism for “fair and safe global development”.
Starting next year, Brazil will assume the presidency of Brics, which has rotating command pro tempore with one-year terms.
