PM arrives in Brasilia on the first leg of visit

Brasilia, Sep 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today arrived here on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other leaders tomorrow and attend the first India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit.

Dr Singh, who is accompanied by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and other officials, was received at the airport here by senior Indian and Brazilian officials.

The Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with President da Silva and other leaders tomorrow, with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the political and economic fields.

The two sides are slated to sign as many as eight agreements aimed at taking their relationship to a new high.

The two leaders will be joined by South African President Thabo Mbeki the following day for the first IBSA summit, at the end of which, the three-year-old grouping of the largest democracies in Asia, Africa and Latin America will sign five trilateral documents designed to bring them closer to each other, especially in the areas of agriculture, biofuels, information technology and trade.

On September 14, the Prime Minister will fly to Havana for the 14th NAM Summit on September 15 and 16.

Dr Singh will leave for home from Havana on September 17 and is scheduled to be back here on the night of September 18 after an overnight stay at Frankfurt.

UNI

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