Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu began a state visit to Brazil to forge deeper ties with Latin America’s largest economy.
The Nigerian president will hold talks with his Brazilian counterpart. Tinubu and his delegation of government officials are also set to meet business leaders during the two-day visit, his third since coming to office barely two years ago. Deals are expected to be signed for direct flights between the two countries and to promote agribusiness. Earlier this year, Brasília and Abuja agreed to the commercial phase of a $1.1 billion deal to boost private sector investment into Nigeria’s agriculture sector.
A Nigerian presidency spokesman said Tinubu’s trip to a key member of the BRICS bloc reflected the country’s broader ambition to diversify its partnerships beyond traditional alliances: Brazil and Nigeria have both been hit by US tariffs, with Washington imposing a 15% levy on goods imported from Nigeria and a 50% duty on Brazil for what it calls a “witch hunt” against a rightist former president. And, like Nigeria, Brazil has courted other nations to diversify its trade.