© Reuters. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a ceremony announcing investments by public banks in states, at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, December 12, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
By Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday urged the international community to work for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and called for better representation in global institutions like the United Nations.
Speaking at a preparatory meeting of sherpas ahead of the November G20 meeting that Brazil will host, Lula said Brazil will continue to work for a permanent ceasefire that allows humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas.
“It is essential that the international community works towards a two-state solution, living side by side in security,” he said.
Lula said the G20 group of the world’s top economies is currently the political and economic forum with the greatest capacity to positively influence the international agenda in a world marked by the resurgence of conflicts, the emergence of protectionist blocs and environmental destruction.
“We want to seriously confront the debate about the anachronism of global governance institutions, which no longer have representation,” he said, referring to the five-member permanent U.N. Security Council create din 1945.
Lula called for reform of multilateral financial institutions so debtor nations are better represented and suggested looking at international taxation mechanisms to help finance development.
Brazil’s priorities as G20 president over the next 11 months will be the fight against hunger and poverty in the world, the promotion of sustainable development and the reform of global governance institutions, he said.
