Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saturday, in Abu Dhabi , shortly after his arrival from China.

The Emirati president received his Brazilian counterpart at the Al Watan Presidential Palace in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
Officials said he was scheduled to attend a Ramadan iftar dinner and would leave early Sunday.

Lula arrived in the UAE earlier Saturday after a two-day visit to China, during which the two countries stressed their cooperation in the economic and diplomatic fields.
Lula returned to power in January after two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010.

He used the opportunity of the visit to China to stress that Brazil had "returned" to the international arena and hoped to play a mediating role in the conflict in Ukraine.

Unlike many Western powers, neither China nor Brazil nor the UAE imposed financial sanctions on Russia and is trying to play the role of mediator, while Beijing is under increasing international pressure to influence Moscow and push it to the negotiating table.

According to the Emirates News Agency, Brazil has "great importance (...) based on Brazil's presence and political and economic importance, whether in its regional environment or at the global level."

The UAE is Brazil's second largest trading partner in the Middle East, and the total value of intra-non-oil trade amounted to more than $4 billion in 2022, with a growth rate of 32 percent compared to 2021.

The UAE represents "a basic trade gateway and a starting point for Brazil to the promising markets in the region, due to its advanced infrastructure in the transport and logistics sector," according to the agency.

The UAE is also looking forward to "taking advantage of the promising investment and commercial opportunities in the Brazilian market - the largest market in Latin America."