BRASILIA: President Dilma Rousseff on Thursday welcomed visiting German President Christian Wulff by urging Germany to invest more in Brazil and increase trade with South America.
Rousseff reminded Wulff that Brazil will be spending heavily to upgrade infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2014 World Cup of football and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
She also mentioned that Brazil will be seeking foreign investment in exploiting its deep sea oil wealth.
"It's time for your country -- Germany -- to invest even more in Brazil. We are your strategic partners," Rousseff told Wulff.
She also asked the German leader for support in a free-trade agreement being negotiated between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc.
Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are the core Mercosur members.
Wulff, who is visiting with a team of business leaders, said that German companies want to participate in work on improving stadiums ahead of the football World Cup.
He also asked for Brazil's support for Munich in its quest to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Trade between Brazil and Germany reached $2.1 billion in 2010, up 31 percent from 2009, according to Brazilian foreign ministry figures.
More than 1,200 German companies have investments in Brazil, generating between eight and 10 percent of Brazil's gross national product.
Wulff is also scheduled to visit Sao Paulo, Brazil's industrial and financial heartland, where most of the German companies in Brazil are based.
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