Remarks by President Obama and President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil Before Meeting

ATLAPA Convention Center
Panama City, Panama

4:15 P.M. EST

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it is wonderful to be able to meet once again with my good friend, President Rousseff, and her delegation. 

PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF:  I understand.  (Laughter.) 

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  She doesn’t need a translator.

Brazil is obviously not only one of the most important countries in the hemisphere, but is a global leader on a whole range of issues.  And so I’m looking forward to this meeting where we can discuss furthering the cooperation that we already have on a whole range of issues, including climate change, energy, educational exchanges, and science and technology.

I’m also very pleased that President Rousseff is going to be able to visit Washington at the end of June, on June 30th, where we’ll be able not only to deepen our discussions, but also put forward some very concrete plans for mutual cooperation in these areas.

So let me just say once again, thank you to President Rousseff for her leadership and her friendship.  And I’m looking forward to a very productive meeting.

PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF:  (As interpreted.)  I would also like to say that, to me, it is of course very important that we, the U.S. and Brazil, be able to ensure continuity of our relations.  Brazil and the U.S. have had a very longstanding track record in our bilateral relations, and I think a very solid one.

We have before us a wide array of different topics in the areas that can serve as subjects for further cooperation, not only between the two countries but also throughout Latin America and the world at large.  May I quote just one example of an area for fruitful cooperation, such as climate change, which is not only a pressing need but also a much-needed area for joint initiatives in the world at large.  Brazil has experienced a very harsh drought.  The U.S., in turn, has experienced a very rigorous winter.  So the climate change agenda is an illustration, a clean-cut example of where we can cooperate jointly.

Science and technology, education, as well as all manners pertaining to economic growth are just examples of what we can do together to improve and boost the quality of our production activity, which is key for Brazil and which I think will help us elevate our relations to a higher threshold than it is currently today.

I am very much pleased to learn about the upcoming visit on June the 30th in the United States, and do look forward to that occasion. 

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you, everybody.

END  
4:22 P.M. EST