[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[Pages 1665-1667]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Joint Statement on the Occasion of the Visit by President George W. Bush 
to Brazil
November 5-6, 2005

    1. Presidents George W. Bush and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva underscored the increasingly strong and 
close ties that Brazil and the United States enjoy, based on common 
values and objectives, including the promotion of democracy, 
development, economic growth, trade liberalization, international 
security and combating terrorism. They recognized the link between 
development, peace, security, human rights and social justice. They 
reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the bilateral 
relationship based on these principles and to deepen the two nations' 
ongoing strategic dialogue on democracy, development, and other key 
shared priorities.

    2. The Presidents underscored the priority that both governments 
attach to reforming the United Nations to make it more effective and 
attuned to present day realities. They agreed to work together on issues 
such as management reform and the creation of a Human Rights Council and 
a Peacebuilding Commission. They further committed to coordinate closely 
on the issue of Security Council reform, which they agreed was an 
important component

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of reform. They also reaffirmed their commitment to fighting hunger and 
poverty, promoting democratic values and fostering economic development 
and emphasized the importance of implementing the Monterrey Consensus on 
Financing for Development and the Millennium Development Goals.
    3. They agreed to work together within the Community of Democracies 
to promote improved governance, regional and trans-regional dialogues, 
development and poverty alleviation. Brazil and the United States also 
agreed to make greater efforts to cooperate in the promotion of equal 
opportunity, democratic values and diversity in the workforce, taking 
into account the multiethnic and multicultural nature of their 
societies.
    4. The Presidents also reaffirmed their commitment to working to 
ensure a positive outcome at the WTO Ministerial Conference, to be held 
in Hong Kong in December 2005 as well as the successful conclusion of 
the Doha Round by the end of 2006. In this context, President Lula 
welcomed the statement delivered by President Bush in the 2005 UN High 
Level Plenary Meeting, reaffirming that the United States is ready to 
eliminate all tariffs, subsidies and other barriers to the free flow of 
goods and services as other nations do the same.
    5. The Presidents noted with satisfaction the growth of bilateral 
trade and investment between the U.S and Brazil. They committed 
themselves to encourage the public and private sectors of their 
respective countries to increase and diversify the bilateral flows of 
goods and services. To this end, they expressed their hope to 
substantially increase trade by 2010.
    6. Reaffirming the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), they acknowledged that the 
protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should 
contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the 
transfer and dissemination of technology, and to a balance of rights and 
obligations, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of 
technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic 
welfare. The leaders agreed to promote innovation and technological 
advancement by providing strong intellectual property protection and 
effective enforcement of intellectual property rights. The Presidents 
also reaffirmed the Doha Declaration on Trips and Public Health.
    7. They agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation to combat the 
narcotics trade, trafficking in wildlife, terrorism, and money 
laundering, with an emphasis on information sharing between the two 
countries' financial intelligence units and the design of mechanisms to 
recover assets derived from transnational crimes.
    8. As Co-Chairs of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) 
process, the Presidents noted the importance of continuing efforts to 
promote trade liberalization and reaffirmed their commitment to the FTAA 
process, based on the Miami framework, and look forward to a hemispheric 
meeting for the timely resumption of the negotiations. They also 
observed that the efforts towards integration in South America, such as 
Mercosur and the South American Community of Nations (CASA), are 
important tools for the promotion of prosperity, stability and democracy 
in the region. Likewise, they noted that closer ties between South 
American countries also contribute to the objective of regional 
integration in Latin America and the Americas as a whole.
    9. The two Presidents stated their intent to work together to 
address specific challenges facing the Americas and other regions. 
Presidents Bush and Lula expressed support for working in partnership 
with Africans to promote peace, democracy and prosperity across the 
continent of Africa.
    10. With regard to health, they recognized the need to provide 
greater structure to the bilateral dialogue and expressed the desire to 
carry out joint activities to combat

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HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis; to develop strategies for the 
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases; and to address the 
threat of avian influenza.
    11. The Presidents expressed their commitment to ensure that 
political stability, democracy, and development take firm root in Haiti. 
Brazil and the United States closely follow the development of the 
electoral process in Haiti and express their confidence that a new 
democratically elected President will take office on February 7, 2006.
    12. The Presidents noted with satisfaction the activities of the 
working groups on economic growth, agriculture and energy established in 
June 2003, as well as the Consultative Mechanism on Trade and Investment 
established in 2001. The Presidents also committed to intensify existing 
dialogues and cooperation in science and technology, education, the 
environment, and promotion of trade and investment. They agreed to:
       (a)   convene the Joint Commission provided for in the 1984 
            Bilateral Agreement relating to Cooperation in Science and 
            Technology and reinvigorate medium- and long-term activities 
            in areas such as earth, atmospheric, and space sciences, 
            health, biodiversity, and agriculture;
       (b)   renew the current Memorandum of Understanding, continuing 
            the ``Partnership in Education;''
       (c)   elevate current dialogue on the protection of the 
            environment and sustainable management of natural resources; 
            and
       (d)   establish an informal consultative mechanism between the 
            Ministry of Development, Industry, and Trade and the 
            Department of Commerce.
    13. The Presidents reaffirmed their friendship and their commitment 
to further strengthening ties between the two nations to foster freedom, 
democracy, security and prosperity.

Note: The transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary 
on November 6. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language version of this joint statement. An original was not available 
for verification of the content of this joint statement.