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Obama to host Brazil’s Rousseff in June

by Mark Hensch - 04/11/15 7:52 PM ET

President Obama on Saturday announced his Brazilian counterpart, Dilma Rousseff, will visit Washington on June 30.

Obama revealed the scheduled trip during the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City. He said he was “looking forward” to hosting the Latin American leader during her stay in the U.S.

Pool reports said the two leaders will discuss a broad array of regional issues. Obama and Rousseff will huddle on climate change, economic growth in the Americas and Brazil’s ongoing struggles with drought this year.

{mosads}The two leaders announced their upcoming meeting in a joint appearance. Rousseff halted a translator to let Obama know she understood what he was saying without additional help.

Rousseff is Brazil’s 36th president and the first woman elected to that office there. She was first elected in October 2010 before earning a second term in an election conducted last year.

President Obama congratulated Rousseff on her reelection in a phone call last October. Vice President Biden additionally visited the South American nation in June 2014 to meet her and attend a World Cup soccer match.

The U.S. has worked hard at repairing ties with Brazil after last year’s revelation the National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on her communications. NSA leaker Edward Snowden exposed agency operations then which had targeted Rousseff’s private emails and phone calls.

Rousseff cancelled a previous visit last year over the allegations. She also demanded that the NSA cease spying on Brazil’s government and its citizens.

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