Lula highlights Global South’s conditions to be at the forefront of science

Havana, Sept. 16 (EFE) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Saturday during the G77+China summit that the countries of the Global South have “all the conditions to be at the forefront” of science, technology and innovation.

“Together we will be stronger, as we have been in the past,” Lula said at the summit, which has brought together some 30 heads of state in Havana since Friday.

The Brazilian president called for a “global pact” that would allow people in developing countries to benefit from advanced technologies.

He also criticized rich countries for their “unfulfilled commitments” and urged them to “update their vision of sustainable development, based on our reality and priorities”.

He added that Brazil attaches special importance to scientific and technological cooperation among developing countries and announced that it would “give new impetus to regional projects through forums such as Celac or BRICS.

Lula also mentioned the need for joint cooperation with Africa because it “has shown that it can help us make a leap in agricultural production”.

He recalled that during the last Amazon Summit, held in the Brazilian city of Belén, a “broad agenda of cooperation among Amazonian communities” was adopted to “take advantage of sustainable industrialization, investment in renewable energy and low-carbon agriculture”.

“We must benefit from our universities’ heritage and the intellectual property of our resources,” said the Brazilian president, who arrived in Havana on Friday afternoon to attend the summit.

Lula also highlighted the “opportunities” that artificial intelligence brings, but criticized its “side effects.”

This is the first visit by a Brazilian president to Cuba since 2014 and the first since he began his third term in January (he visited in 2003, 2008 and 2010 during his first two terms). EFE

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