(Bloomberg) — US President Joe Biden, seeking to bolster participation in a regional summit he’s hosting in Los Angeles, has invited Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the event, according to a Brazilian government official familiar with the matter.
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Biden’s invitation was delivered Tuesday by Christopher Dodd, a special envoy from the White House to discuss the Summit of the Americas with leaders of the region, said the person, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public. The story was first reported by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo in Brazil.
Bolsonaro hasn’t responded yet to the invitation as he reconsiders the idea of skipping the gathering, according to three Brazilian government officials. His office and Brazil’s foreign ministry haven’t immediately responded to a request for comment. The White House declined to comment.
After being received by Bolsonaro and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Carlos Franca at the presidential palace in Brasilia, Dodd said he was sent by Biden to establish a “positive and shared agenda” for the summit.
“In my meeting with President Bolsonaro, I reiterated our wish for Brazil to be an active player at the summit, as we recognize our collective responsibility to advance toward a more inclusive and prosperous future,” he said in a statement, stopping short of confirming Biden’s invitation for a bilateral meeting.
Read More: Bolsonaro Mulls Skipping Regional Summit in Blow to Biden
Biden’s Summit of the Americas, scheduled for June 6-10, is at risk of becoming a gathering of mostly foreign ministers after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador threatened to skip it unless all Latin American leaders are welcome, including those from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Bolsonaro had also been inclined to pass on the summit to focus on his re-election campaign.
The Brazilian president, who was a close ally of Donald Trump and visited him both at the White House and Mar-a-Lago during his presidency, has yet to speak with Biden since his inauguration. He was one of the last presidents to congratulate Biden on his victory in 2020.
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