BRAZIL-U.S. PARTNERSHIP DIALOGUE JOINT COMMUNIQUE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Brazil-U.S. Global Partnership Dialogue (Brasilia, April 16th 2012) Joint Communiqué
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 18, 2012
he following is the text of a joint communiqué on Brazil-U.S. Global Partnership Dialogue.
Begin Text:
Minister of External Relations Antonio de Aguiar Patriota and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton conducted the 2012 Global Partnership Dialogue (GPD) on April 16 to review the state of our bilateral relationship following the successful April 9-10 visit of President Dilma Rousseff to the United States, and to highlight the considerable progress in the development of our joint cooperation since the last GPD was held in June 2011. The Participants also noted with satisfaction the important role of the GPD in the formation of the Brazil-U.S. partnership for the 21st century. They agreed that the GPD is an increasingly important mechanism for advancing our bilateral cooperation and promoting shared interests around the world. Minister Patriota and Secretary Clinton also reviewed the progress of several other bilateral dialogues, including the October 2011 Economic Partnership Dialogue; the February 2012 U.S.-Brazil Management Committee to Advance Cooperation on Biofuels; the August 2011 and March 2012 meetings of the Dialogue on the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction; the February 2012 Political-Military Dialogue; the March 2012 Joint Commission Meeting on Science and Technology; the March 2012 Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Dialogue; and the April 2012 Space Security Dialogue.

They stressed that several initiatives fostered at the 2011 GPD moved forward during President Rousseff’s visit to Washington, such as the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Aviation Partnership, the Memorandum of Understanding for Technical Cooperation Activities to Enhance Food Security in Third Countries, and the announcement of concrete initiatives to promote the increased flow of goods and travelers between both countries. The participants underscored that academic and research collaboration is a priority between our two countries, and that the U.S. goal of “100,000 Strong in the Americas” complements Brazil’s “Science without Borders” program. They celebrated the successful implementation of the Action Plan on Education, with hundreds of Science without Borders students already studying in the United States. The participants also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on State and Local Cooperation during the Presidential visit.

The 2012 GPD was preceded by high-level discussions on bilateral and international issues. Working groups met on Africa; Latin America; economic and commercial issues; science, technology, innovation, and the environment; internet communication and cyber-related issues; and education and culture. In addition, GPD participants met to discuss issues related to social inclusion.

They expressed satisfaction with the enhanced bilateral cooperation under the Joint Commission on Science and Technology, and welcomed the establishment of a working group on innovation. They also noted the mutual commitment to deepen cooperation and collaboration on a range of issues, including oceans, space, biotechnology, health, nanotechnology, and disaster management. They reviewed Secretary Clinton’s announcement of her intention to send an Innovation Delegation, comprised of entrepreneurs, university representatives, and senior government officials, to Brazil.

They also welcomed the establishment of a new dialogue mechanism on Internet and information and communication technologies (ICT)-related issues such as Internet governance, Internet public policy, cybersecurity, and ICT and telecommunications policy. Participants agreed to hold a first interagency "whole of government" discussion in the second half of 2012 to address the priority issue of Internet governance and cooperation on other Internet policy matters, with plans to hold other discussions over the course of the year.

They underlined education and innovation as key factors in promoting social inclusion, competitiveness, and economic growth. They supported efforts to include American community colleges and students enrolled in the Brazilian Federal Professional and Technological Education Network in the Science without Borders and 100,000 Strong in the Americas programs. They also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States under the U.S. –Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality.

The parties agreed to deepen the dialogue that links education, scientific research, and innovation through the Fulbright-Science without Borders Scholar and Distinguished Chair Awards. They also agreed to intensify dialogue with U.S. agencies that conduct scientific research, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as with private sector companies and associations, to explore ways they could further support the Science without Borders and 100,000 Strong in the Americas programs.

The Participants emphasized the importance of the mutual benefits of stimulating increased investment and trade. In this context, they welcomed the creation of a dialogue on investment during the Presidential visit. They also committed to work closely together to satisfy the requirements of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and Brazil’s applicable legislation to enable U.S. and Brazilian citizens visa free travel.

The Participants noted that strengthening cultural exchanges is a joint priority for both the United States and Brazil, and agreed to facilitate musical collaborations and exchanges between our two countries. Activities could be centered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Salvador, Bahia - cities that are emblematic of the rich musical traditions of our countries - and feature performances by Brazilian and American musical groups, workshops, youth programs, and social media. Another partnership priority will be to explore showcasing Brazilian and American musical groups in third countries, possibly Haiti and Mozambique.
They announced their intention to pursue increased dialogue and cooperation on security and in the fight against transnational organized crime, and looked forward to exchanging experiences and intensifying collaboration on this matter. In furtherance of this objective, they welcomed the upcoming visit of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Assistant Secretary William Brownfield to Brazil to meet with counterparts.

The GPD participants supported an intensified dialogue on regional discussions to include exchanges on the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and East Asia and the Pacific. Recognizing the importance of regular dialogue on shared interests in these regions, the Participants committed to hold discussions later in 2012.
The participants, recognizing shared values and objectives, agreed on the importance of maintaining an open dialogue on Africa to expand the successful existing trilateral cooperation and to exchange views on political developments to identify common contributions to help achieve peace, stability, and sustainable economic development in the region. The Participants also identified new areas for trilateral cooperation in the agricultural and energy sectors.

The Participants welcomed the beginning of a trilateral partnership with the Government of Haiti to improve agriculture practices and technologies. The Participants agreed to cooperate on the Domestic Finance for Development (DF4D) initiative coordinated with specialized Brazilian public institutions to promote effective fiscal management and transparency in third countries, including in Africa. Further, the Participants agreed to expand cooperation in agricultural technology in third countries, with special emphasis on Central America and Lusophone Africa, and to work towards an instrument which will reflect their agreement to work on regulatory cooperation and public outreach, among others. Noting ongoing activities in Africa and Haiti, the Participants expressed their interest in expanding joint trilateral cooperation in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as other parts of the world.

The Participants reaffirmed the intent of both countries to continue to cooperate with Haiti in order to promote its economic and social development. In order to spur new public-private partnerships for Haiti’s energy sector, they committed to work with the Government of Haiti on design and implementation of its national energy plan, including its plans to modernize Haiti’s electric utility and harness renewable energy sources, like the Artibonite 4C hydroelectric plant, to power Haiti’s future development. The Participants reiterated their commitment to Haiti’s security and agreed to pursue partnerships to build the capacity of the Haitian National Police.

The Participants took stock of the progress achieved under the Memorandum of Understanding on the Advancement of Women and under the Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality over the last year, including a new focus on ways our governments and private sector will collaborate to create economic opportunities and career training for historically marginalized and vulnerable ethnic groups, women, and youth in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games. They also expressed their joint commitment to seek new ways to promote additional collaboration on LGBT issues in human rights multilateral fora.

The Participants exchanged views on the recent Summit of the Americas, held in Cartagena, Colombia. They highlighted the important contribution of the existing sub-regional and regional processes to the economic and social development of the Americas. Minister Patriota and Secretary Clinton also stressed the importance of the upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil as an opportunity to promote sustainable development through innovation and broad stakeholder engagement.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON AND BRAZILIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANTONIO DE AGUIAR PATRIOTA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Itamaraty Palace
Brasilia, Brazil
April 16, 2012

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Antonio. And it is a great pleasure, as always, to be back in Brazil, especially just one week after the very constructive meeting that was held between our two presidents. We have deepened and broadened our cooperation on so many issues, and our Global Partnership Dialogue is now bringing together our experts on both sides to discuss in depth what we can do advance our cooperation on the economy, on education, on some of the key challenges such as cyber security that we are both dealing with.

And it is exciting for us to be in this partnership because we have a long history together. In the 19th century when Brazil won its independence, the U.S. was the first country to recognize Brazil. And in the 20th century, when a U.S. Secretary of State made the first ever official visit to a foreign country, it was to Brazil – Secretary Elihu Root, who came here in 1906. So we now – Antonio and I decided that we have to have a 21st century partnership, the time for us to be really looking at the opportunities and challenges we face and how we can do better together.

A week ago, Antonio and I were together in Washington at a standing-room-only business meeting at the United States Chamber of Commerce. And earlier today, I was privileged to speak to a business group of Brazilian business leaders. We know that we’re making progress in bilateral trade and investment, creating jobs for both of our peoples, but there’s more to do. I will be sending an innovation delegation to Brazil later this year with some of our top entrepreneurs, educators, and tech leaders to meet with their Brazilian counterparts.

And this is – in addition to the very exciting partnerships which President Rousseff highlighted when she was in the United States, particularly with her visits to Harvard and MIT, through the Science without Borders initiative, Brazil will send 100,000 students to study science and technology at foreign universities. Many of them will be welcomed in the United States. And we, in turn, under President Obama’s initiative, 100,000 Strong, want to send a hundred thousand U.S. students to Latin American universities. And of course, we expect many to come here to Brazil.

In the meeting this afternoon, we received an update on the U.S.-Brazil global partnership. We discussed Latin America, of course. We discussed Africa. We discussed some of the hotspot issues at the time, now of Iran, Syria, and so much else. But I think it’s important to emphasize that at the heart of this partnership are values. We are two of the largest democracies in the world, two of the most diverse countries in the world. We share a commitment to opportunity for all people. And tomorrow, President Rousseff and I will kick off the high-level meeting of the Open Government Partnership here in Brasilia, which she and President Obama launched eight months ago. This Open Government Partnership is intended to fight corruption, promote transparency, empower citizens to make the case that both Brazil and the United States believe so strongly that democracy delivers results for people.

So it’s exciting that we’re building these habits of cooperation between our governments, our private sectors, our universities, our civil societies, and our citizens. And I’m looking forward to the work ahead. We’ve set up a very busy agenda for ourselves, but we are committed to doing everything we can to help lay the foundation for this 21st century partnership.
Thank you, Antonio.

MODERATOR: (In Portuguese.)

QUESTION: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me say that the United States absolutely admires Brazil’s growing leadership and its aspiration to join the United Nations Security Council as a permanent member. We believe that the long-term viability of the United Nations Security Council depends upon updating it to the 21st century to recognizing that it has to reflect the world that exists today, not the world that existed when it was formed. So for that reason, we are committed to serious, deliberate reform efforts in the UN, not only on the Security Council, but frankly, in a number of areas of UN process and functioning.
And in fact, I think

we believe that the United States has shown a greater commitment to real UN reform than many of our counterparts on the Security Council. But we also have learned that until other countries are committed to UN reform, we’re not going to make the progress that we need, and I think it would be very hard to imagine a future UN Security Council that wouldn’t include a country like Brazil with all of its progress and the great model it represents of a democracy that is progressing and providing opportunity for its people.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.

QUESTION: On Afghanistan, a number of U.S. officials have said that the Haqqani Network is behind the attack in Kabul and elsewhere over the weekend. In your conversation with Foreign Minister Khar, what sense did she give you that the Pakistanis would be willing to go after the Haqqani Network? (Inaudible) deepen counterterrorism involvement, but it’s fallen by the wayside.

And if I may on North Korea – (laughter) – double (inaudible) questions. You spoke to Foreign Minister Yang on Friday, and I was wondering what sense you got from him (inaudible) pressure on North Korea, who was about to go ahead with the nuclear test.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first with regard to Afghanistan, the United States strongly condemns yesterday’s cowardly attacks. Once again, we extend our condolences to the victims and their families. I spoke to Ambassador Ryan Crocker in Kabul yesterday, first to check to see how everyone was doing. Thankfully, despite the attacks, the Embassy and our personnel associated with it were safe. We also were impressed by and I conveyed my appreciation to the Afghan National Security Forces for the effective response which they provided. Remember, they were in the lead on this. They were the ones who ended the sieges, captured the insurgents, and are in the process of compiling evidence about the nature and origin of this attack.

Now, I think it’s fair to say that despite how contemptible these attacks were, they were not successful. They were another failed effort by extremists to try to undermine the slow but steady progress that Afghanistan is making to stability. And as the transition to security leadership by the Afghans themselves continues, we know there will be more challenges, because it’s not in the interests of all of these adversaries to see Afghanistan be able to provide security for itself. So they will continue to test, they will continue to assassinate, they will continue to attack, and we are going to stand with the people and the Government of Afghanistan. We are going to continue to work with the Afghan National Security Forces along with our NATO-ISAF partners, and we believe and we have evidence of this that the insurgency is failing despite their ability to launch spectacular attacks from time to time.

The investigation over the origin of these attacks is ongoing, but there are already indications of Haqqani involvement. The Haqqani Network is a very determined foe of the stability, security, and peace of the Afghan people. So we’ll see what the full investigation shows, but it’s not premature to refer to the evidence that is being compiled.

When I spoke with the Pakistan foreign minister, Foreign Minister Khar today, I certainly expressed my strong conviction that there has to be a concerted effort by the Pakistanis with the Afghans, with the others of us, against extremists of all kinds whether they threaten the Pakistani people, the Afghan people, or the American Embassy. And when I was in Pakistan last October, I made it very clear both publicly and privately that Pakistan had to work with us to squeeze the Haqqani Network. And I’m going to continue to make that point, to press it hard, and our consultations with the Pakistanis are proceeding, but the Haqqani Network is a threat to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the people of the region. So we’re going to take it very seriously.

With respect to North Korea, look, we are working to ensure that the new North Korean leadership hears unequivocally from the international community that their provocative behavior will not be rewarded, and the fact that the UN Security Council unanimously approved a presidential statement deploring the North Korea failed satellite launch underscores that it violated UN resolutions and that these actions constitute a threat to regional peace and security and that there will be consequences to this behavior. There unfortunately have to be consequences.

We very much, very much hope to see a different attitude from the Government of North Korea – not with the United States or Japan or South Korea first and foremost, but for their own people. And so as you may know, we were negotiating the potential of trying to assist them and had reached agreement with them to try to provide nutritional assistance since they cannot feed their own people. Unfortunately, they decided to launch this – or to attempt to launch this missile, which was clearly in violation of the UN Security Council. So the Security Council has directed the North Korean Sanctions Committee to designate more North Korean companies for asset freezes to identify further sensitive nuclear and missile technologies that will be banned from sale to Pyongyang, among other measures. And we have all agreed – that includes China – that there will be further consequences if they pursue another provocative action.

So let me say this again: Here in Brasilia, a country that has demonstrated what good leadership, what a partnership between the people and the government can produce, the new, young leadership of North Korea has a very stark choice. They need to take a hard look at their policies, stop the provocative action, open to the rest of the world, work to educate their people, feed their people, put their people first ahead of their ambitions to be a nuclear power, and rejoin the international community. We would welcome that.

QUESTION: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin, and then perhaps the minister would also add some comments.
I did meet with Graca Foster this morning and came away very impressed with her personally and also with the commitment Petrobras has to maximizing the benefits for the Brazilian people of the extraordinary potential of the pre-salt deepwater reserves. And we discussed a long list of issues, because what Brazil is doing is complicated and demanding, expensive, and there are ways in which our government and our international oil companies, along with others from elsewhere in the world who have expertise and experience, technologies, innovative approaches, can partner with Petrobras under the conditions that are set by the Brazilian Government. She is a very knowledgeable person and extremely practical. She knows that a lot of what is going to be happening in deepwater drilling off the coast of Brazil will take a very high level of investment. And insofar as it is possible, the United States and our companies stand ready to participate.

We discussed Chevron. Obviously, we want to be a good partner to Petrobras and Brazil. There are problems in deepwater drilling. We suffered through them in our own Gulf of Mexico. So we know how challenging this path is, but we also know how important it is for Brazil to do this. And it was an excellent discussion. We had some of our experts with us. We’re setting up an ongoing dialogue to get very practical. I am not the person to talk to about wellheads, but there are a lot of people in our government and in our private sector who you could talk to about wellheads and different pressures and the like.
So I think she put it well. She said she wanted a very material agenda, that we would talk about what Petrobras’s needs were; and insofar as we had anything to offer, we would make that available. And it’s of course up to Petrobras and the Brazilian Government to decide the way forward.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible) Argentina, Madam Secretary. (Inaudible) Argentina (inaudible)?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh. Well, I think that’s going to be a decision that will be rightly debated, and I’m not going to offer an opinion. I don’t know all the details. But I think competition and having an open market for energy and other commodities is a much preferable model. And the decisions that are taken by nations are ones that they have to justify and live with. But clearly, I think the model of openness, outreach, competition, market access are ones that have proven successful the world over.

MODERATOR: Reuters, last question.

QUESTION: Madam Secretary, in Syria violence is clearly still continuing. There are reports of four people killed in Homs, (inaudible) the two in Hama, all today. Given that the ceasefire seems to be unraveling before it’s even managed to take hold, you must be thinking about what to do if it does indeed fail to take hold. How do you plan to respond (inaudible)?

And on Iran, the Iranian foreign minister said that if the P-5+1 were to start – start easing sanctions, it would be much easier to resolve the nuclear issue. (Inaudible) sanctions before Iran ceases uranium enrichment, as is called for in so many UN Security Council resolutions?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Arshad, I’m not going to prejudge the outcome of the process in Syria, because the first tranche of UN monitors is beginning to deploy today. Clearly the burden is on the Assad regime to demonstrate their commitment to all aspects of Kofi Annan’s six-point plan. And we’re not interested in your promises; we’re not interested in new conditions or new excuses. We want action. I think the world wants action. That’s why the Security Council acted in a unified way to support Kofi Annan’s initiative.

Much of Syria is quieter, but I agree with you that the people of Homs continue to endure renewed shelling by the regime. So we know the ceasefire is not complete, but it appears as though the violence is down significantly. So rather than setting conditions on the monitors, what the Assad regime needs to do is to make clear that they’re going to silence their guns, withdraw their troops, and work toward fulfilling the six-point plan. That means, as it has always meant, pulling out of the towns and cities; allowing peaceful demonstrations like what we saw over the weekend, where thousands of Syrians came out to demonstrate peacefully; releasing political prisoners; and allowing a peaceful transition to begin.

So this week will be critical in evaluating the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2024. And we’re hoping for the best. We want to see a peaceful period for the people of Syria and we want to see a political process begin. But if violence is renewed, if the regime reverts to shelling its own people and causing a great deal of death and injury, then we’re going to have to get back to planning what our next step is. So we’re planning for a good outcome, positive results, and we’re talking with others on the Security Council and beyond about what would be next steps if that does not prove successful.

Switching to Iran, look; the initial discussions between the P-5+1 and Iran were serious and focused on the nuclear issue. The P-5+1 was unified in calling for Iran to demonstrate the peaceful intent of its nuclear program and to fully comply with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iran agrees that the terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty should serve as the framework for the discussions going forward, and we set the next round for Baghdad for the end of May.

We want this to be a sustained effort. Between now and the next round, there will be experts meetings, there will planning, and we have to address the concerns of the international community. We’re going to take this one step at a time; but clearly, any process would have to have reciprocal expectations and actions, and there has to be evidence by Iran that they would be seriously moving toward removing a lot of their nuclear ambiguities that exists now, that they would be much more open and transparent, and they would take steps to respond to the UN Security Council resolutions and the international community’s concerns.

So we are watching. You’ve heard me say before I believe in action for action. But I think in this case, the burden of action falls on the Iranians to demonstrate their seriousness. And we’re going to keep the sanctions in place and the pressure on Iran as they consider what they’ll bring to the table in Baghdad, and we’ll respond accordingly.

FOREIGN MINISTER PATRIOTA: (In Portuguese.)

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON SAYS BRAZIL AND U.S. HAVE "SPECIAL OBLIGATION TO STAND FOR OUR VALUES"

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks to the U.S.-Brazil Partnership for the 21st Century
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Washington, DC
April 9, 2012
Good morning. It’s wonderful to be here to celebrate the strong ties between Brazil and the United States, and to talk, starting this morning and going through the day, about how we can strengthen and deepen those ties.

I want to thank Tom Donohue and the extraordinary staff of the chamber for the work that you do every day, and in particular, for your commitment to this relationship. You know, as does our government, that it is one of the most consequential relationships for the 21st century. And I want to welcome my friend and colleague, the foreign minister of Brazil. It’s a great pleasure to work with Antonio on a broad range of issues, but none more important than our commitment to seeking out new, creative, enduring ways to really bind the peoples of our two countries together.

I am delighted that we also have this visit of President Rousseff here today, because when I think about the extraordinary leadership she is providing to Brazil, it makes eminent sense that she would be leading the way for Brazil and the United States’ relationship, along with President Obama, to find those lasting ties and illustrate in a very public, visible way how important they are.

Everyone knows we are the two largest and most diverse democracies, the two largest economies, in our hemisphere. But what may not be known is that the United States and Brazil, because we are democracies, have a special obligation to stand for our values. It is, of course, important that we promote our economic ties, that we try in every way possible to raise the standard of living of our two peoples, but we do so within a strong framework of commitment to democratic values. And we increasingly have a responsibility to work together on behalf of those values. The policies we embrace and the investments that we make will shape our shared future, and we are developing strong habits of partnership and cooperation. And that is not, as you know so well, a job solely for governments. In fact, it is actually more the job for the private sectors, our universities, our civil societies, our citizens. And therefore, we need to draw on all sources of our respective national strengths to build this partnership for the future. And I look out at this audience, and I see many Americans whom I know well who are deeply committed to doing just that.

Now, the fact that this meeting is here at the chamber points to the importance of our economic ties. We see in Brazil an inspiring success story: a dynamic economy that has lifted millions of people into the middle class; a country that is helping to fuel the global economy; that produces everything from commodities, of course, but also aerospace technologies, whose goods and services are facing increasing demand across the globe.

And as the United States works to increase our own competitiveness, create jobs here in our country, we look to our neighbors. The proximity that we have here in the Western Hemisphere to some of the fastest growing economies and some of the most vibrant democracies is a great strength for us all. And we seek to be a partner, an equal partner, to promote sustainable, diversified, innovation-driven growth that translates into inclusive, long-lasting progress. We want, together, Brazil and the United States, to work toward creating economic opportunity, a system in which everyone has a fair chance to compete.

Now, as I look at what we’ve already committed to doing together, we see those ties in action. The Brazilian company that buys materials and components from the U.S. and the American company that opens a factory in Brazil, many businesses have already discovered how much we have to offer each other. And as our economic relationship continues maturing, investment will increase in both directions, trade will grow and diversify, more businesses from both Brazil and the United States will find markets in the other country. I know this is a priority for both of our presidents, and I particularly applaud President Rousseff’s commitment, her historic pledge to end extreme poverty in her country.

Now, later today, the foreign minister and I will sign the U.S.-Brazil Aviation Partnership Memorandum, which builds on our Open Skies Agreement and will promote more and safer air travel between our countries. We think that’s a win-win. It will promote not only our aviation industries and business travel, but also more tourism and exchanges.

And the United States will be opening two new consulates in Brazil. Some of you know that we’ve been working very hard at the State Department to meet the demand in two countries – Brazil and China – that has far exceeded our capacity up until now. And we’ve made a lot of progress, and the opening of these two consulates – one in Belo Horizonte and one in Porto Alegre – keeps up with our expanding relationship. We’re trying to make it easier to get those visas, easier to travel, knock down some of the barriers that have been put up, and continue to promote people-to-people contact.

But we know that the progress we wish to make is not going to be measured alone by flight traffic or trade or investment figures, or even by visas. We have to have more cooperation and partnership between and among our universities, our science and tech sectors, our civil societies. Now, Brazil knows how important it is for a nation to invest in its people, and starting in the ‘90s, when I was privileged to travel to Brazil, I have followed with great interest the innovative social programs serving Brazil’s children. This tradition of innovation of conditional cash transfers and other investments in the human beings of Brazil is paying off. You can see the results. It’s not only fueled the rapid expansion of Brazil’s middle class, but it has demonstrated that an economy growing is not an end in itself; it is a means to improving the lives of the people of a country, and Brazil is a model for that.

So now we want to do more to innovate together, and our two presidents have launched path-breaking initiatives. President Rousseff’s Science without Borders program will send 100,000 Brazilian students to the world’s top universities to study science, technology, energy, and math – engineering and math, the stem subjects. And we’ve already welcomed 700 of those Brazilian students to the United States. We expect thousands more in the next few years. And the State Department is working with our extensive contacts in our higher education community to pave the way. We know that the students who are here today are studying at universities in 42 states, and many of their educational programs are supported by the private sectors from both of our countries. This program is an excellent complement to President Obama’s educational initiative, which is called 100,000 Strong in the Americas. Our goal is to increase the numbers of Latin American and Caribbean students in the United States to 100,000 each year, and we want to send 100,000 American students to the region over the next 10 years as well.

I personally believe that having more interaction between our young people, going north to south, east to west within our hemisphere is one of the keys to that shared future. Educational exchange programs like these will help us prepare the workforce to give our students the skills, experiences, and relationships that a global economy requires.

Consider the Brazilian company Tecsis, which makes the blades used in wind turbines. It happens to be one of the largest blade manufacturers in the world, founded by three Brazilian engineers. Now, all of them attended ITA, a top Brazilian technical institute that was created with strong support from MIT, and one of the company founders also studied at Harvard. And I’m delighted that President Roussef will be going to both MIT and Harvard tomorrow.

Well today, Tecsis is a leader in the U.S. market. It exports more than half its blades to the United States. Eighty percent of the raw material it uses to make the blades actually comes from the United States. One of its top customers is GE. And a partnership between the two companies has helped GE become a top wind energy equipment provider in the United States.

So in addition to employing more than 5,000 people in Brazil, Tecsis has created a subsidiary company in Houston which employs more than 150 workers to repair and maintain the blades used in the United States. This kind of partnership – call it cross-pollination, if you will – is increasingly achievable, and we want to see more of this.

The foreign minister and I were talking earlier before we came in that our values, our common commitment to democracy, to human rights, to freedom, to the full potential of every individual, is such an advantage in the world today. And there is tremendous untapped potential in both of our countries. We’ve only begun to explore how we can work and prosper together.

So I urge all of you here for today’s conference to identify concrete ways for collaboration in business and education, energy, and any other critical field. And the foreign minister and I will do the same here in Washington and then when I travel to Brazil next week, where we will convene the next meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Global Partnership Dialogue.

Now, when we look at the rise of powers around the world, the story of Brazil stands out. Yes, it is becoming one of the largest economies in the world; it’s already one of the largest democracies. It increasingly has an impact on global stability and security. We face complex challenges in our region and beyond, and Brazil is a responsible actor. Our countries have to be partners. We want to be. But even in today’s world, that want is matched by need. Because whether we’re taking advantage of shared opportunities or facing shared threats, we have to do all we can to work effectively together.
And I am confident that this relationship will serve to stabilize our hemisphere, our economies, but even reach far beyond. Because what we want to see is the progress in Brazil that has been so laudable over the last several decades continue and grow from strength to strength. And we want to see the United States, with our great, diverse, pluralistic population, being the kind of model inspiration that we have historically been over our own history.

As today’s conference makes clear, the work between the two countries is well underway. And I want to commit this government and our country to the peace, prosperity, and progress that will, I am sure, ensue because we will build an even stronger relationship for years to come.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

U.S. CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF GEN. DEMPSEY SEEKS TO EXPAND MILITARY TIES TO BRAZIL

The following excerpt is from an American Forces Press Service e-mail:

Dempsey Looks to Expand Military Ties With Brazil

By Jim Garamone

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, March 29, 2012 - Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, on his way back from Brazil today, said he hopes to expand military-to-military relations with the country he said is "clearly, an economic engine globally."

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he was pleased with "wide-ranging" discussions he had with Brazilian Defense Minister Antonio Celoso Amorim and top-ranking military official Gen. Jose Carlos de Nardi.

Dempsey also flew yesterday to Bogota, Colombia, then directly to the headquarters of the Amazon Military Command in Manaus.

The U.S. relationship with Brazil is a partnership of equals, U.S. Southern Command officials said. After years of promise, Brazil's economy recently became the sixth largest in the world. With a population of 220 million, an educated workforce and abundant raw materials, the nation is poised to climb even higher.

National power is the aggregate of economic, diplomatic and military power, and Brazil already regards itself as an economic and diplomatic world power. Dempsey discussed how military power fits into the equation.

The leaders discussed common interests – transnational organized crime, border controls, intelligence sharing, technology transfers and cyber. "I went in hoping that we wouldn't get bogged down in a single weapons system or on technology transfer, and we didn't," Dempsey said.

The chairman said he was not surprised that Brazil has the same concern as the United States about cyber. "The better they do economically and the more influence they have internationally, the more they see what we see, which is cyber is both our greatest opportunity and our greatest vulnerability," he said, adding that cyber defense may be an area where the two military partners can work together.

Brazilian officials briefed the chairman on their military's deployments, which the country limits to only those in which there is a United Nations mandate Brazil commands the U.N. mission in Haiti and serves in various other peacekeeping missions, Brazilian leaders told Dempsey.

"They are concerned about the Mideast, the long-term implications of the Arab Spring, whether we think Iran will respond to sanctions," the chairman said. "They were interested in Libya and how the mission evolved from stopping the violence to trying to stabilize the land."

They also discussed the regional picture. Brazil is at ease with the relationships it has with all its neighbors. "They see Colombia in a special light because they feel Colombia has made significant progress in containing the FARC insurgency," Dempsey said. "That worried the Brazilians because they were afraid of spillover."

Brazilian leaders told Dempsey they must deal with transnational organized crime. Brazil is second only to the United States in cocaine consumption, officials said.