By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider  

President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, has urged South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to bolster his defence co-operation as he warned the South African President that both countries are vulnerable to foreign invasion. 

“I don’t know if comrade Ramaphosa realises that if we don’t prepare ourselves in terms of defence, one day someone will invade us…we need to combine our potential and see what we can produce together, build together. We don’t need to keep buying from foreign arms suppliers” said Lula. 

This commentary comes after the two Presidents had critically discussed the war lodged by Israel and the United States against Iran. President Ramaphosa highlighted that Brazil’s defence force and resources in aviation are far more advanced than South Africa’s. 

“We have a lot to learn from each other and we also have a lot to show you as well” said Ramaphosa. The defence ministers of the two countries were set to meet on Monday in order to discuss a cooperation agreement.

 “In South America, we present ourselves as a region of peace. No one has a nuclear bomb, no one has an atomic bomb. So we think of defence as deterrance” said Lula. 

United States President Donald Trump have labelled the BRICS group of emerging countries as an Anti-american bloc which could be a cause for alarm as both South Africa and Brazil are members of the group. 

The Brazilian President has been heavily critical of how the United States have handled their affairs in Latin America, referring specifically to the US attack on Venezuela earlier this year when they kidnapped the President of Venezuela and his wife and highlighted that the United States had crossed a line. 

Trump also noted that he would like to help Latin American leaders to combat drug cartels by launching missiles that target drug kingpins.