President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will depart from Brazil today for a trip to Asia, where diplomacy, trade and geopolitics are set to converge.
His itinerary includes official visits to Indonesia and Malaysia and participation in the 47th ASEAN Summit — a first for a Brazilian head of state. But one event looms larger than the rest: a possible face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday. Neither Brasília nor Washington has confirmed the meeting, but Brazilian diplomats have kept a slot open in Lula’s schedule for Sunday.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s trip marks his third visit to Asia since returning to power in 2023. Everton Frask Lucero, a senior Foreign Ministry official, said Lula aims to deepen commercial ties with the region. More than 100 Brazilian business leaders are part of the delegation, signaling the administration’s focus on expanding economic partnerships amid what Lucero described as a “more difficult global trade environment” — though he avoided mentioning the new US tariff policy that has rattled global commerce.
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