Brazil-U.S.: Partnership for the 21st Century With Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil

Photo courtesy of Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR

On April 9, a conference convenes on President Dilma Rousseff’s visit to Washington, D.C.

The Embassy of Brazil in Washington, D.C. is honored to announce the conference:

Brazil-U.S.: Partnership for the 21^st Century

With Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil

April 9, 2012

Preliminary Agenda

This event is invite only

For more information, please contact brazilcouncil@uschamber.com.

Organization:

Partners:

Amid high hopes, Brazil’s oil industry faces setbacks

Vinod Sreeharsha – McClatchy Newspapers, 03/08/2012

Visiting Brazil last year, President Barack Obama expressed high hopes for the country’s massive offshore oil reserves, offering technical support and pledging that “when you are ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers.”

Yet despite high expectations, Brazil’s promise as a long-term energy provider has run into significant problems that threaten the country’s continued economic growth and U.S. hopes that Brazil could become an alternative energy source to the volatile Middle East.

Over the past year, Brazil’s state-run oil giant Petrobras’ financials have deteriorated and production setbacks have forced South America’s largest economy to increase its oil imports. Recent offshore spills have raised questions about whether Brazil has implemented adequate safety measures for the deep-sea oil exploration that’s supposed to make Brazil the world’s fifth largest oil producer by 2020.

Read more…

Reflections on Brazil’s Global Rise

Celso Amorim – America’s Quarterly, Spring Issue

Photo: LatinContent/Getty Images.

This is the first article I have written since leaving the foreign ministry of Brazil. As someone who was very active in formulating foreign policy during what might be called “the Lula era” (and still without the benefit of much hindsight), it is an opportunity to begin taking stock of what has been achieved so far. The most remarkable fact about Brazilian foreign policy in recent years has been Brazil’s new and more prominent stance in the international arena. To be sure, this qualitative change, which resulted in The Economist describing Brazil as “a diplomatic giant,” is not solely—or even principally—due to foreign policy.

In recent years, Brazil has grown economically while keeping inflation under control, improved income distribution and, above all, strengthened its democracy. Who could have predicted after years of military dictatorship, immediately followed by the impeachment of the country’s first popularly-elected president, that Brazil’s next three heads of state would be an intellectual who fought against the dictatorship, a labor leader routinely labeled as a dangerous revolutionary, and now a woman who once was a political prisoner?

These changes have had a major impact on Brazil’s stance toward other countries and also on how other countries view Brazil. As I said in a recent interview, Brazilian foreign policy may not have created the wave, but it learned how to ride it. It should come as no surprise that international interest in Brazilian foreign policy has increased notably in recent years, culminating with the 2010 elections.

*Celso Amorim was Brazil’s Foreign Minister from 1993-1995 and again from 2003-2011.

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Libya attack sours Obama-Rousseff Meeting

Fabiola Ortiz – IPS, 03/21/2011

Dilma Rousseff welcomes Barack Obama at Planalto Palace. Photo: Office of the Brazilian President

The first black president of the United States visited the first woman president of Brazil: their meeting resulted in modest progress in bilateral relations, but a bitter taste could not be avoided over the announcement, in Brazil, of the U.S.-led air attack on Libya.

On Saturday, Obama announced in Brasilia the launch of air strikes against the Libyan regime, in line with the Mar. 17 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which ordered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to call a ceasefire against rebels demanding his resignation, and authorised the use of force to impose a no-fly zone over the country.

Brazil, currently a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, had opposed the military measures and was one of five Council members to abstain from voting.

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Obama woos skeptical Brazil

Joe Leahy, Daniel Dombey – Financial Times, 03/21/2011

*Paulo Sotero, Director of the Brazil Institute, hypothesizes the outcome of Obama’s Brazil visit.

President Barack Obama sought to win over ordinary Brazilians with a “speech to the people” in Rio de Janeiro onSunday as his administration seeks to rebuild ties with Latin America’s largest economy.

The speech, in which he mentioned his late mother’s attachment to Brazil, followed a visit to a Rio slum and a day ofmeetings with Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s president.

“I’m here to tell you that the American people don’t just recognise Brazil’s success – we root for Brazil’s success,” Mr Obama said.

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Obama visit to Brazil yields “encouraging” renewable fuels cooperation, according to Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association

UNICA, 03/21/2011

President Dilma Rousseff and President of the United States, Barack Obama, in a press statement. Photo: Roberto Stuckert Filho / PR

Two important announcements involving renewable energy made on the opening day of U.S. President Barack Obama’s official visit to Brazil, both directly relevant to Brazil’s successful sugarcane ethanol industry, are encouraging signs that Brazil and the U.S. are on a path to achieve free, unobstructed trade for clean, renewable biofuels. The assessment came from the President and CEO of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA), Marcos Jank, one of the invited guests at events attended by Obama in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia.

The first major announcement expands the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Brazil and the U.S. to advance cooperation on biofuels, signed in 2007, to include a new partnership for the development of aviation biofuels. Key goals in the agreement include developing sustainable aviation biofuels as an important means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, establishing common standards and specifications, and strengthening private sector partnerships.

Of particular interest to UNICA is a clause calling on the two countries to work to “prevent international barriers to biofuels trade and development.” Various companies are developing aviation fuels based on sugarcane, including a three-way partnership between Brazilian regional jet manufacturer Embraer, engine manufacturer General Electric and California biotech company Amyris. In 2012, the trio intends to stage the first-ever flight using jet fuel produced from sugarcane, using an Embraer aircraft equipped with GE engines and owned by Brazil’s Azul Airlines.

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Obama’s Brazil visit: fresh start for ties?

Paulo Sotero – BBC, 03/17/2001

Barack Obama’s trip to Brazil this weekend differs in a marked way from the previous 14 visits by US presidents, writes analyst Paulo Sotero.

For the first time since the restoration of democracy in Brazil in 1985, a high-level bilateral dialogue will start with the US leader heading south. Until now, it was the other way around. Brazilian presidents were expected to go first to Washington.

Three of the last five, including Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, felt it was necessary to visit the White House even before taking office.

Read more…

Paulo Sotero is the Director of the Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Obama visits Brazil: a chance to build a strategic alliance

Brian Winters, Matt Spetalnick – Reuters, 03/16/2011

Reuters has compiled a package of stories focused on President Obama’s upcoming trip to Brazil. The PDF file can be downloaded here.

President Obama’s Latin American trip offers an opportunity for a new relationship with the region

Mimi Whitefield – The Miami Herald, 03/13/2011

As President Barack Obama prepares for his trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador this week, there is optimism in the region that his swing south will begin a new relationship — one that reflects the profound changes Latin America has undergone in the past decade.

But with a budget crisis looming in the United States and the possibility of a partial U.S. government shutdown by the end of the week if a stop-gap measure isn’t approved, the president’s trip, scheduled for Friday through Wednesday, could be delayed.

If the trip goes forward as planned, the Latin America that Obama will encounter is more confident, more politically diverse and healthier economically since adopting sometimes painful reforms.

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Brazil confirms Obama visit on March 19

Yahoo News/AFP, 02/15/2011

Brazil’s government Tuesday confirmed that US President Barack Obama will visit Brasilia on March 19 to meet his counterpart Dilma Rousseff.

Government news agency Agencia Brasil also reported that Obama was likely to go on to Rio de Janeiro on March 20.

The Brazil visit is part of a Latin America tour Obama announced last month in his State of the Union address in which he said he wanted to “forge new alliances” in the Americas.

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