President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Brasília on Monday to begin a state visit to Brazil, where he is expected to hold high-level talks aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.
Flying in from Los Angeles, the President was received at the Brasília Air Base by senior Brazilian 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, was also on hand to welcome him.
Shortly after, ministers, heads of key agencies, and members of the private sector—who will join in bilateral discussions and the signing of agreements—welcomed President Tinubu to his hotel.
The official welcoming ceremony, complete with military honours, will be held at the Planalto Palace, where Tinubu will meet President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Both leaders are expected to hold private talks before leading expanded bilateral meetings with senior officials from both sides. They will also witness the signing of new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and address a joint press conference.
During his stay, President Tinubu will meet the heads of Brazil’s National Congress, Chamber of Deputies, and Supreme Federal Court. He will also take part in the Nigeria-Brazil Business Forum in Brasília.
Nigeria and Brazil have enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations since the early 1960s. Brazil was the only Latin American nation represented at Nigeria’s independence celebrations in 1960, and Nigeria formally opened its embassy in Brazil in 1966.
In recent years, ties have deepened through high-level exchanges. Tinubu attended the BRICS Leaders’ Summit in Rio de Janeiro in July 2025 and the G20 Summit in November 2024 at Lula’s invitation. Earlier this year, Nigeria hosted Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and his wife, Maria Lúcia Alckmin, in Abuja for the Second Session of the Mechanism for Strategic Dialogue, which produced seven new cooperation agreements spanning defence, energy, agriculture, and counternarcotics.
Brazil remains a central partner in Nigeria’s food security efforts. The $2.5 billion JBS investment secured at the 2024 G20 Summit is expected to strengthen supply chains and create jobs, while the ongoing $1.1 billion Green Imperative Programme, launched in 2019, is set to deliver 10,000 tractors and 50,000 farm equipment units for assembly in Nigeria.
President Tinubu’s state visit is expected to build on these commitments, further advancing trade, agriculture, and strategic cooperation between Africa’s largest economy and Latin America’s biggest country.