BERLIN: A remark by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about Brazil that offended President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been taken out of context, a German government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Merz, at a trade congress last week, described asking journalists who had travelled with him to Brazil for the COP30 climate conference whether they wanted to remain in the country.

“Not one hand was raised. We were all glad to be back in Germany from that place,” Merz told the audience.

The comment prompted Lula to remark at an event in northern Brazil on Tuesday that Merz should have gone dancing or to a bar while visiting the area around COP30 host city Belem earlier this month.

“Then he would have realised that Berlin doesn’t offer him 10 per cent of the quality that the state of Para and the city of Belem offer,” Lula said.

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2025