LatinNews Daily - 10 March 2026

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has hosted his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa in the Planalto presidential palace in Brasília, where they discussed ways to boost economic cooperation. The South African delegation signed two memoranda of understanding with Brazilian officials – one agreement pledging to implement an updated bilateral tourism plan, and another agreement aimed at promoting trade and investment. According to a Brazilian government press release, the bilateral trade balance in 2025 totalled US$2.3bn, with Brazil’s main exports to South Africa including agricultural products such as poultry, sugar, and molasses, as well as industrial goods such as vehicles. The meeting with Ramaphosa yesterday comes amid Lula’s efforts in recent months to boost ties with partners in the Brics group of developing economies. In January he had a phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, and in February he hosted a Russian delegation in Brasília and led a Brazilian delegation to India, holding a bilateral meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.