Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez agreed Wednesday in Antalya, Türkiye, to restore bilateral relations at the highest level, on the sidelines of the COP31 climate summit.
The two leaders held a private meeting this Wednesday, November 11, in the Turkish city of Antalya, on the margins of COP31, the UN climate summit. What began as an encounter on the sidelines of a global gathering closed with a commitment to reactivate institutional relations between Brazil and Venezuela.
RELATED: COP31: Leaders’ Summit Moves Forward Amid Key Absences
Lula announced the outcome on the social network X, writing that both sides expressed their willingness to fully resume the bilateral relationship. The meeting was the first in-person encounter between the two leaders since since Rodriguez assumed Venezuelan Acting presidency in January after the U.S. kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro.
Relations between the two countries had cooled after Venezuela’s disputed July 2024 presidential election, when Brasília declined to recognize the results.
Rodriguez also posted about the meeting, calling it fruitful. “I held a fruitful meeting with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in which we reaffirmed our willingness to continue strengthening bilateral relations and advance a cooperation agenda in various areas of common interest,” she afffirmed.
The Venezuelan leader elaborated on the substance of the exchange. “We agreed to review our trade agreements and explored new opportunities to boost economic exchange, promote investment and deepen the ties of friendship and cooperation between Venezuela and Brazil, for the benefit of our people,” she added.
Beyond the declarations, the two sides outlined a work plan focused on trade, tariffs and energy. The encounter also unfolded during a busy diplomatic agenda for Rodriguez at the summit in Türkiye, where she was received by the Turkish President and by the United Nations secretary-general.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
Trade and Oil Agenda
On the economic front, Lula stressed the importance of trade between the two countries and referred to recent Brazilian business missions sent to Caracas. He conveyed Brazil’s interest in continuing negotiations to revise Economic Complementation Agreement No. 69 (ACE-69), as well as the tariff schemes applied to Brazilian-made cars. Venezuelan Acting President Rodriguez responded by suggesting that a Brazilian negotiating delegation travel to the Venezuelan capital to address the issues directly.
The two leaders also assessed prospects for expanding investment by Brazilian capital in Venezuela’s oil sector.
As a result of the talks, they coordinated an official visit to Venezuela by Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, to take place before the end of the year. This next visit will be the first concrete step to show whether the political understanding reached in Antalya turns into agreements.
Lula also reaffirmed his government’s determination to strengthen and deepen diplomatic ties with all South American countries, and the two sides agreed to keep up permanent dialogue between Brazilian and Venezuelan authorities.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Una publicación compartida de teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
Rodríguez arrived in Antalya on Wednesday with a large government delegation to take part in COP31, where she was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The conference runs from November 9 to 20, and Lula had accepted Erdoğan’s invitation to attend. The encounter on the sidelines of the summit shows how multilateral gatherings can open space for bilateral diplomacy.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.