By IANS/EFE,
Brasilia: US Vice President Joe Biden said here Friday that the social changes that have taken place in Brazil, the world’s seventh-largest economy, in recent years are proof that democracy is the surest, quickest path to development.
“Brazil is no longer an emerging country. Brazil has emerged and it demonstrated that you don’t have to choose between democracy and development,” he said at a joint press conference with Brazilian counterpart Michel Temer.
“Brazil now has very close relations with its South American neighbours, but that hasn’t kept us from maintaining very special relations with the United States,” Temer said.
On the subject of bilateral trade, Temer agreed with Biden that “it can be and should be even greater” given the size of the respective economies.
Biden met earlier Friday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is due to visit the US in October.
He said his meeting with Rousseff was very fruitful and allowed for a “wide-ranging discussion” on many matters that will serve to prepare an extensive work agenda between the two countries.
“We’re ready for a deeper, broader relationship across the board on everything from the military to education, trade and investment,” the U.S. vice president said.
His stopover in Brasilia was the last on a tour that Biden undertook this week and included visits to Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago as part of a US effort to strengthen ties with Latin America and the Caribbean.