Brasilia, Jan 2 (EFE).- The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, received the King of Spain, Felipe VI, in Brasilia on Monday, in his first bilateral meeting after assuming the head of State the day before.
The meeting takes place at the Itamaraty Palace, headquarters of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is expected to last around half an hour.
Felipe VI heads the Spanish delegation that attended Lula’s inauguration, in which Vice President Yolanda Díaz and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, also participated.
Before taking office, the Spanish monarch said, in a meeting with members of the Spanish community in the South American country, that he hopes that “Brazil will play a very active international role.”
In this sense, he stressed the importance of giving “emphasis to all joint issues” in which the two countries have “mutual interest, both on this side of the Atlantic, as well as in Europe and in other parts of the world.”
In addition to the meeting with Felipe VI, Lula plans to speak this Monday with six Latin American leaders, with the Chinese vice president, Wang Qishan, as well as with African leaders.
“We are going to work so that Brazil has the role it deserves in the world,” the new ruler said on his social networks on Monday. EFE
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