President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke by phone on Monday (24) with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the two leaders agreed to deepen bilateral defense cooperation. Brazil will send a delegation to Ankara made up of representatives from the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce to begin implementing the Defense Industry Cooperation Agreement, already ratified by both countries' parliaments.

According to Poder360, Lula said Brazil intends to expand investment in the defense sector and wants to encourage partnerships between Brazilian and Turkish companies. The two governments also decided to create a strategic council led by their respective vice presidents, tasked with drawing up a roadmap to deepen bilateral relations, Congresso em Foco reported.

In a statement, the Turkish government said Erdogan believes the two countries can implement "a model of economic cooperation capable of expanding the prosperity of their peoples in the face of protectionist trends". The Turkish president also praised Brazilian foreign policy, which, in his assessment, "contributes to world peace" by prioritizing peace in regional and global matters.

Invitation to COP31

During the call, Erdogan formally invited Lula to attend COP31, the UN climate conference scheduled for November 9 to 20 in Antalya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, weeks after the runoff in Brazil's presidential election. Lula confirmed he will attend. It will be the third climate conference with both leaders present: they attended COP28, in the United Arab Emirates, and COP29, in Azerbaijan.

According to a statement from the Brazilian presidency, the presidents "lamented the persistence of conflicts around the world and emphasized the importance of intensifying dialogue to find paths to peace in Ukraine and the Middle East".