Brazil and UAE leaders seal climate, biofuel deals

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Brazil and the United Arab Emirates announced a series of deals on combating climate change and advancing biofuels on Saturday as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid an official visit to the oil-rich country.

"It was a highly fruitful visit," Lula said in brief comments to Brazil's TV Globo after meeting UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on his way home after visiting China.

The countries said in a joint statement that the leaders had discussed a range of subjects, including trade, technology, defense, aviation and food security.

They also announced a series of deals, including one for the UAE-controlled Mataripe refinery in northeastern Brazil to invest up to $2.5 billion in a biodiesel project in the region, and another on working together on combating climate change.

The UAE is due to host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28, later this year, and Brazil is a candidate to host the 2025 edition.

The countries said they had agreed to work together to "encourage ambitious climate action" from the rest of the world.

Sheikh Mohamed greeted Lula at the presidential palace, where a 21-gun salute rang out and formation jets trailed Brazil's national colors.

Lula, who returned to power in January after two terms as president between 2003 and 2010, was played the Brazilian national anthem, and inspected an honor guard.

Growing trade

The strategically located Gulf monarchy is Brazil's second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, according to the official WAM news agency.

Bilateral trade, excluding oil products, totaled more than $4 million last year, representing a 32-percent rise from 2021, WAM said.

In Beijing, where Lula sought to consolidate economic ties with Brazil's biggest trading partner, he said his country was "back on the international stage" and ready to mediate an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He also accused the United States of "encouraging" the war and said it should "start talking about peace".

Agencies Via Xinhua