FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 March 2011 (Press Release / jornal.us - newswire/
In his visit to Brazil on 19-20 March, US president Barack Obama expressed agreement with the view that the realities of the 21st century should be reflected by a move towards greater multilateralism.
Though stopping short of an explicit endorsement of Brazil's bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, he declared during a joint press conference with President Dilma Rousseff that the US would strive ‘to make sure that the new realities of the 21st century are reflected in international institutions ... including the United Nations, where Brazil aspires to a seat on the Security Council'. He added that his government would ‘keep working with Brazil and other nations on reforms that make the Security Council more effective, more efficient, more representative, and advance our shared vision of a more secure and peaceful world'.
The presidents' official joint statement said they had ‘expressed their support for a modest expansion of the Security Council that improves its effectiveness and efficiency, as well as its representation'.
The statement also declared the need to ‘modernize the international financial institutions in a way that reflects the changes in the world economy and moves towards global financial stability, sustainable development and poverty reduction', and the two presidents' ‘strong commitment to bring the WTO Doha Round to a successful, ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion'.
Agreements were signed in numerous areas during the visit, including trade and economic cooperation, biofuels, space science, international air transport, education, and major sporting events (ahead of the 2104 World Cup and 2016 Olympics).
The US is currently the biggest foreign investor in Brazil and the second-biggest importer of Brazilian products (after China). Total bilateral trade totalled US$46bn in 2010, with Brazilian exports to the US having increased by more than 26% in comparison with 2009.
President Rousseff referred during the joint press conference to Brazil's cutting-edge technology in genetics, biotechnology, renewable energy and deep-water oil exploration, saying it would be mutually beneficial for the two countries to combine their research and innovation capabilities in those fields.
President Obama suggested the US should become a ‘major customer' for Brazilian oil following the discovery of the huge pre-salt fields off the country's south-east coast. ‘At a time when we've been reminded how easily instability in other parts of the world can affect the price of oil, the United States welcomes the potential for a new, stable source of energy,', he said, in reference to the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa. President Rousseff, acknowledging that the exploration of the pre-salt fields would bring ‘enormous challenges', welcomed the prospect of cooperation between American and Brazilian research centres.
Obama hailed Brazil's ‘extraordinary rise' in recent years, noting that ‘more than half of this nation is now considered middle class' and ‘millions have been lifted from poverty', and said the two countries should ‘stand together – not as senior and junior partners, but as equal partners'.
President Rousseff accepted President Obama's invitation to visit the United States in the second half of this year.
Source: Embassy of Brazil in London