BRASILIA: Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff plans to make a state visit to the United States by September, her chief of staff said, in an attempt to turn the page on a 2013 diplomatic spat over spying revelations.
Rousseff became one of the only leaders ever to cancel a state visit to Washington in October 2013, following revelations that the US National Security Agency spied on her and millions of other Brazilians.
Since then, diplomats on both sides have worked to ease tensions. Brazil's stagnant economy, which has suffered from falling investor confidence and a rising trade deficit, has also given Rousseff greater incentive to try to improve ties with the country's second-biggest trade partner behind China.
Rousseff communicated her decision to US Vice President Joe Biden in a bilateral meeting on Thursday evening in Brasilia, chief of staff Aloizio Mercadante told journalists following Rousseff's inauguration for a second term. According to Mercadante, the visit could take place near the second half of September, when heads of state from all over the world flock to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting.
In a short emailed statement, the White House made no specific mention to a formal state visit and said Biden and Rousseff "agreed on the need to work in equal partnership to develop a robust and ambitious agenda."
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