The meeting between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and George W. Bush was marked by an excellent atmosphere and great candor, according to the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim.
He also observed that the private session at which regional and global matters were discussed was supposed to last 30 minutes but ended up going on for about an hour and a half.
During this session Lula showed the US President a map of Brazil and indicated the area where a focus of hoof and mouth disease was identified. One of the topics stressed at the meeting, according to the Minister, was the reduction of agricultural subsidies and the negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"Bush was serious in his emphasis on the proposal for the reduction of agricultural subsidies," he remarked.
According to Amorim, reform of the United Nations also came up in the conversation. "Bush reaffirmed his equanimity about a broader reform of the United Nations, not limited to the Security Council," he informed.
"What he said encourages us to continue to fight for this reform," he went on to say. Brazil is endeavoring to obtain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which currently has only five permanent members: the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and Russia.
ABr