Brazil’s Lula invites Japan’s prime minister to eat his country’s beef, and become a believer

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has welcomed Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on his first visit to the country, with the two meeting in Brasilia and the South American leader pushing his counterpart to buy his beef. Brazil had wished to seize on the bilateral meeting to push forward an agreement to open Japanese markets to Brazilian beef, a goal the Latin American country has pursued since 2005. In an appeal to the Prime Minister, Lula insisted he should eat at a steakhouse during his trip. Under Lula, Brazil has boosted efforts to export beef to international markets.