UPDATE 2 - Turkish, Brazilian presidents meet in India for talks

UPDATES WITH BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT'S REMARKS

By Diyar Guldogan

NEW DELHI (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday met Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in India's capital New Delhi.

Erdogan and Lula discussed steps that can be taken to further develop Türkiye-Brazil relations, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

The leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues.

Erdogan wished success to Brazil, which will take over the G-20 term presidency in 2024, and noted that trade volume between the two countries, which was $5.6 billion last year, could be increased to $10 billion with joint efforts.

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Erdogan's chief adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic, and Hasan Dogan, chief of cabinet to the president, were also present at the meeting.

After the meeting, Lula said they talked about “reactivating the Brazil-Türkiye partnership, which had been abandoned.”

"We also talked about the increase in trade between the two countries, cooperation in the area of defense and the prospects for peace in the world," he said on X.

Erdogan was one of the leaders who voiced support for Lula after hundreds of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress building while shouting slogans and demanding intervention by the army to overturn the 2022 election.

Brazil is Türkiye’s first strategic partner in South America and its biggest trade partner in the region.