President Paul Biya sent a telegram to Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, on 27 October 2026 congratulating him on his re-election, the presidency said. Biya offered his "vives et chaleureuses felicitations" and described the result as the "triomphe de vos convictions, ainsi que l'adhesion de vos compatriotes a votre programme politique". He said Cameroon was ready to strengthen bilateral relations with Brazil.
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court proclaimed Lula the winner of the second round with 51.79% of valid votes against 48.21% for Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The result gives Lula, of the Workers' Party, a fourth presidential term, the first in Brazilian political history.
The two leaders have met before. Lula made the first official visit by a Brazilian president to Cameroon in April 2005, when Brazil reopened its embassy in Yaounde. Biya travelled to Brasilia in August 2010. The two countries have held extradition and prisoner transfer treaties since 2019, and Brazilian naval expertise has been shared with Cameroonian forces in the Gulf of Guinea.
The message keeps open a channel between Yaounde and Brasilia as Lula begins his new term.