President Bola Tinubu on Monday arrived in Brasília, the capital of Brazil, to begin a state visit aimed at deepening bilateral relations and expanding areas of cooperation between Africa’s largest economy and Latin America’s biggest nation.
The President, who flew in from Los Angeles, United States, was received at the Brasília Air Base by senior Brazilian government officials, including Ambassador Carlos Sérgio Sobral Duarte, Secretary for Africa and the Middle East, and Ambassador Carlos José Areias Moreno Garcete, Brazil’s envoy to Nigeria.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, also joined the reception party, while other Nigerian ministers, heads of government agencies and private sector leaders later welcomed President Tinubu to his hotel.
An official welcoming ceremony with full military honours will take place at the Planalto Palace, where President Tinubu will be hosted by his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The two leaders are expected to hold a private meeting before leading expanded bilateral talks involving senior officials from both governments.
A series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) will be signed during the engagements, after which both Presidents will address a joint press conference.
President Tinubu’s itinerary also includes meetings with the leadership of Brazil’s key democratic institutions, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies, and the Supreme Federal Court, underscoring the broad scope of his mission.
He is further billed to attend the Nigeria-Brazil Business Forum, where private sector partnerships and investment opportunities will take centre stage.
Nigeria and Brazil share warm diplomatic ties dating back to the early 1960s. Brazil was the only Latin American country to participate in Nigeria’s independence celebrations in 1960, and Nigeria formally opened its Embassy in Brazil in 1966.
Relations have grown stronger in recent years. President Tinubu attended the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro in July 2025 and, on President Lula’s invitation, the G20 Summit in Brazil in November 2024.
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and his wife, Maria Lúcia Alckmin, were in Abuja in June this year for the Second Session of the Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue, during which seven MoUs were signed across key sectors, including defence, energy, agriculture, tourism, and counternarcotics.
The Strategic Dialogue, established in 2013, is co-chaired by the vice presidents of both countries and alternates annually between Abuja and Brasília.
Brazil is also emerging as a critical partner in Nigeria’s food security drive. A landmark $2.5 billion investment by Brazilian food giant JBS was signed during the 2024 G20 Summit to boost local production and strengthen supply chains. Similarly, the Green Imperative Programme, a $1.1 billion agricultural mechanisation scheme launched in 2019, remains on course to deliver 10,000 tractors and 50,000 units of farm equipment for assembly in Nigeria.
Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement explained that with President Tinubu’s latest state visit, both nations are set to consolidate their partnership in trade, agriculture, energy, and institutional cooperation, opening a new chapter in Nigeria-Brazil relations.
