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Obama to visit Brazil in late March

16 February 2011 04:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Brazilian government confirmed on Tuesday that U.S. president Barack Obama will make an official visit to the country on March 19-20, APA reports quoting Xinhua News Agency

According to information released by the presidential office, Obama will be in Brasilia on March 19, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Dilma Rousseff, and in Rio de Janeiro on March 20.

The meeting between the leaders will be the first since Rousseff took office on Jan. 1, although both have already met in Washington in July 2009, when she was former President Lula da Silva’s Chief of Staff, during a forum of business leaders.

The U.S. president would be interested in the experiences to combat urban violence in Rio de Janeiro and, according to Brazilian press, could make a speech to the Brazilian people, like the ones he made during his previous visits to Berlin and Cairo.

Last week U.S, Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner visited Brasilia, where he held a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff to discuss the agenda of next month’s meeting with Barack Obama.

In a press conference in Brasilia, Geithner said the United States and Brazil are "fundamentally aligned" and must act together to achieve a more stable and stronger global economic system.

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota will travel to the United States in late February to define the details of the meeting between the two presidents, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry reported.