President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has told a summit of West African leaders that his country is determined to increase its unity with Africa. President Lula is on his last visit to the continent before he steps down later this year. James Reed reports.

During his 8 years in power, Brazil’s commerce with the continent has quadrupled with big investment in mining, agriculture and infrastructure development. At the summit in Cape Verde, Lula said Brazil could never repay its historic debt to Africa - the ancestral home of millions of Brazilians who are descended from slaves. But he said his successor had a “moral duty” to increase trade and investment as well as the transfer of technology. Brazil’s links with Portuguese-speaking African nations are long standing, but its influence is growing throughout the continent.