MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US President Obama visits Brazil March 19 and 20

Presidents Rousseff and Obama have already met at the White House

The Brazilian government confirmed on Tuesday that US President Barak Obama will make an official visit to Brazil on March 19 and 20.

According to information released by the Presidency's international consultancy, Obama will be in Brasilia on March 19, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Dilma Rousseff, and in Rio de Janeiro on March 20.

The meeting between the two leaders will be the first since Rousseff took office on January first, although both have already met in Washington in July 2009, when she was former President Lula da Silva's Chief of Staff.

The U.S. president would be interested in the experiences to combat urban violence in Rio de Janeiro and, according to Brazilian press, could make a speech to the Brazilian people, like those during his visits to Berlin and Cairo.

Last week, US Secretary of Treasury Thimoty Geithner visited Brasilia, where he held a meeting with President Dilma Rousseff to discuss the agenda of next month's meeting with Barack Obama.

In a press conference in Brasilia, Geithner said the United States and Brazil are “fundamentally aligned” and must act together to achieve a more stable and stronger global economic system.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota will travel to the U.S. in late February to define the details of the meeting between the two presidents, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said.

President Obama’s Latinamerican tour includes Chile and El Salvador besides Brazil.