Brazil: In an effort to fortify Brazil’s extensive coastline, known as the “Blue Amazon,” President Emmanuel Macron and his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed the launch of the nation’s third French-built submarine on Wednesday.
The two men spoke at a ceremony at Brazil’s state-of-the-art naval facility in Itaguai, close to Rio de Janeiro, about the significance of their countries’ defense cooperation during a period of intense worldwide unrest.
It was here that Brazil built the Tonelero, the third of four planned conventional diesel attack submarines, with training, equipment and technical assistance from France.
Under cloudy skies, the submarine was christened by First Lady Rosangela da Silva, nicknamed “Janja”.
France and Brazil’s defense ties “will allow two important countries, each on the continent, to prepare so that we can face this adversity without having to worry about any type of war because we are defenders of peace,” Lula said.
Despite differences, particularly over the Ukraine war, Macron said the “great peace powers of Brazil and France” have “the same vision of the world”.
Macron is on a whirlwind tour of Brazil, a key economic ally, kicking off Tuesday with the launch of a plan to raise more than $1 billion in green investment to protect the Brazilian and Guyanese Amazons.
The visit by a French president to the Latin American economic giant in more than a decade is also a step to restore relations that deteriorated significantly under former president Jair Bolsonaro.
An intimate meeting between Macron and Lula in the Amazon, in which the two men were pictured beaming and locking hands in the jungle, spawned a number of internet memes about their bromance.
The cozy scenes – a far cry from the days when Bolsonaro insulted Macron’s wife – continued on Wednesday at the launch of the submarine.
With 8,500 kilometers of coastline, Brazil is trying to secure what it calls the “blue Amazon,” its vast exclusive economic zone through which more than 95 percent of its foreign trade passes and where 95 percent of its oil is extracted.
The construction of the submarines was outlined in a 2008 agreement between Lula and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which also included the purchase of 50 Caracal helicopters.
A fourth submarine, Angostura, will be launched in 2025.
Brazil also plans to build its first nuclear-powered submarine, the Alvaro Alberto, a project that has suffered significant delays, mainly due to budget constraints.
French naval defense manufacturer Naval Group is supporting the design and construction of the submarine, except for the nuclear boiler, which is being designed by the Brazilians.
But Brasília is trying to convince Paris to increase technology transfers that would help it integrate the reactor into the submarine and sell it nuclear propulsion equipment.
France has been reluctant to transfer such technology due to the challenges of nuclear proliferation.
“If Brazil wants to have access to the knowledge of nuclear technology, it is not to wage war. We want this knowledge to assure all countries that want peace that Brazil will be on their side,” Lula said.
Macron told Brazil “France will be on your side” during the development of nuclear-powered submarines, without announcing specific aid.
