UK Elections !  Brazil was one of the few nations mentioned in the government project of the British Labour Party , the winner of the UK legislative elections held earlier this month.

In the document, the country is described as a country “at the forefront of the climate crisis” and as a likely strategic partner in the clean energy federation that the British want to form.

In an interview with Folha de S.Paulo, former Foreign Minister Antônio Patriota, Brazil’s ambassador in London, said he was informed of the reference in the document by a member of the top echelons of the party of new Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as a sign of the British government’s desire to strengthen relations with Brasília.

“The person, whose name I cannot reveal, told me: ‘This was the subject of internal deliberation within the party, and I would like to convey first-hand that Brazil is mentioned by name’, which he considered a promising aspect for the bilateral relationship”, he states.

Patriota points out that there is a historical affinity between the Brazilian Workers’ Party, the PT, and the British Labour Party. Their leaders have maintained contact over the years, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is a partner of former leftist Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with whom he met at the UN General Assembly in December 2023.

On that occasion, the PT member also met Keir Starmer, then Labour leader and now British Prime Minister. “ President Lula’s strong leadership on climate issues is an example to be followed by all of us,” he wrote to the Starmer era , who is considered the main person responsible for his party’s first victory in Parliament in 14 years, on his X account.

Leaders of Brazil and the United Kingdom are expected to participate in a meeting

Patriota says there are plans to hold a bilateral meeting between Lula and Starmer during the G20 summit – Brazil holds the temporary presidency of the forum and will host its meeting in Rio de Janeiro in November. According to the diplomat, it is likely that after the meeting the two leaders will announce joint initiatives between Brasilia and London.

If the partnership is promising in the sustainable agenda, it also appears to have its downside, due to the interest of both States in the uninterrupted exploration of oil.

“The UK is seeking to position itself as a leader in sustainability issues while also developing a significant offshore oil and gas industry. So there is this similarity with Brazil. There is a very interesting conversation between the countries, which have comparable experiences and an ability to dialogue in a non-superficial way,” says the ambassador .

It is no surprise that some of the UK’s biggest investors in Brazil are from the oil and gas sector. This is the case of Shell, which has interests in the controversial authorization of exploration on the equatorial margin, blocked by Ibama and defended by wings of the Brazilian government – ​​President Lula himself has already made statements to this effect.

The president of Shell in Brazil, Cristiano Pinto da Costa, is also in favor of exploration. The oil company currently has eight blocks in the region.

In 2025, Brazil will be at the forefront of the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), to be held in Belém (PA). In the same year, the 200th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Brazil will be celebrated. “All of this is part of the calendar and will stimulate a celebratory dialogue, but also new objectives in political dialogue, trade , protection , technology and academic cooperation”, says Patriota.

The ambassador adds that Brazil still wants to influence the British to take a more assertive stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict. He mentions analyses in the British press that said that, despite being victorious, the Labour Party lost a percentage of votes among the Islamic population because it did not sufficiently question “certain behaviors of Israel.”

Patriota points out, however, that as soon as he took office, Starmer reiterated his commitment to the so-called two-state solution, which envisages the creation of a Palestinian nation-state. “In other words, the gap between the Brazilian and British positions has already narrowed two days after the new government took power. This opens up prospects for closer coordination on major issues of international concern.”

At his first press conference on Downing Street in London, Starmer was keen to announce that the uncertain plan to send asylum seekers who entered British territory irregularly to Rwanda was “dead and buried”.

The measure would not affect Brazilians who migrate illegally to the United Kingdom . But, for Patriota, it is a sign that the new government will treat the issue of immigration differently from the Conservatives.

“All of this opens up a field of cooperation and conversation, including on the subject of human rights, which is much more promising than that of the previous government, which, although democratic, did not show itself to be particularly respectful of international law on the subject of migration,” concluded the ambassador .

Source : Folhapress