MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Obama congratulates Dilma and underlines 'strategic value' of relation with Brazil

“The President emphasized the strategic value of our bilateral partnership and reinforced his commitment to deepening our cooperation”

President Barack Obama on Tuesday telephoned Brazilian head of state Dilma Rousseff to congratulate her on her re-election, the White House said in a statement. Obama “emphasized the strategic value of our bilateral partnership and reinforced his commitment to deepening our cooperation in areas such as commerce, energy, and other priority bilateral issues through our existing strategic dialogues”.

 Besides thanking Obama, Rousseff, according to the statement, “affirmed that strengthening ties with the United States is a priority for Brazil.”

The brief comment from the White House was that “President Obama called President Dilma Rousseff this morning to congratulate her on her re-election. The President emphasized the strategic value of our bilateral partnership and reinforced his commitment to deepening our cooperation in areas such as commerce, energy, and other priority bilateral issues through our existing strategic dialogues. President Rousseff thanked the President and affirmed that strengthening ties with the United States is a priority for Brazil”.

Rousseff, who took office in January 2011, won a second four-year mandate in Sunday's presidential runoff, beating Senator Aecio Neves by 51.6% to 48.3%.

Relations between Washington and Brasilia grew strained last year after former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden released documents showing that the National Security Agency had intercepted Rousseff's personal communications.

NSA also targeted Brazilian government ministries and the country's state-owned oil company, Petrobras. The revelations prompted Rousseff to suspend a state visit to the United States planned for October 2013.

The first high-level contact between the two governments following the spying disclosures came in June, when Vice President Joe Biden met privately with Rousseff during a visit to Brazil to support the U.S. national soccer team in the 2014 World.