After the abolition of slavery in 1888 and throughout the 20th century, Africa figured relatively low on Brazil's foreign policy agenda, which focused primarily on relations with global powers such as the United States and European countries. This configuration began to change significantly in the early 2000s, when Brazil's improving macroeconomic situation coincided with Africa's economic recovery. The turning point occurred, without a doubt, during the mandate of former president Lula (2003-2010). Canceling historical ties and cultural similarities, Lula's speech was often based on frames such as: "repay the debt of solidarity with the African continent, due to centuries of slavery that relied on the sweat and blood of millions of Africans" and the need to stop focusing on developed powers, to “unite the voices of the global south” (Veja, 2012). Since Lula came to power in 2003, the number of Brazilian embassies in Africa has doubled from 18 to 37, while African embassies in Brasilia have increased from 16 to 34. Additionally, Lula has made a total of 28 presidential visits he African continent, covering 21 countries and reaching record levels (Alves, 2013). Although the majority of Brazilian cooperation goes to Central and South America due to peacekeeping operations, in technical cooperation the focus on the African continent is visible, which represents 57% of the total (ABC, 2011):Source: ABC , 2011As reported by the latest official information in 2011, there have been technical cooperation projects in either the planning or implementation phases in 38 of 54 African countries (ABC, 2011). As for the main beneficiaries of Brazilian cooperation in Africa, the Portuguese-speaking African countries...... middle of paper ...... in surplus compared to most African countries, with the exception of Nigeria, due of heavy oil imports (Alves, 2013). At the same time, investment funds are trying to raise funds to enable more Brazilian investments in Africa. In this sense, the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV Projects) aims to raise funds of around 1 billion dollars for the development of agricultural projects. The fund is coordinated by DWS Investments, a manager owned by the German Deutsche Bank. Furthermore, in June 2012, BTG Pactual, Brazil's largest investment bank, announced plans to raise $1 billion and create a "global" investment fund in Africa, for sectors such as infrastructure, energy and agriculture. The ties between Brazil and Africa have also been strengthened by the numerous presidential visits to the continent, which have created business opportunities.