US ambassador to visit Brazil next week, following up on recent high-level meetings

US Ambassor Linda Thomas-Greenfield is heing to Brazil next week, following up on recent high-level meetings between presidents and top diplomats of two countries.

US Mission to United Nations said late Wednesday that she will visit capital, Brasilia, and n travel to Salvor, one of oldest cities in Americas and a center of Afro-Brazilian culture, from May 2-4.

Thomas-Greenfield’s visit follows February’s White House meeting where President Joe Biden and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed importance of defending democracy and preserving Amazon rain forest — and talks on margin of Group of 20 ministerial meeting in New Delhi in early March between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.

Lula has also reached out to China and Russia, traveling to Beijing earlier this month to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing and holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Brasilia last week.

Brazilian president sparked criticism from U.S. and European Union for suggesting recently that Kyiv and West share some responsibility for conflict in Ukraine, which began with Russia's invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

U.S. mission said Thomas-Greenfield, a member of Biden’s Cabinet, will focus on promoting democracy and multilateral cooperation on trip, as well as on combating climate change, safeguarding food security, continuing cooperation on regional migration, “and ensuring equity for marginalized racial, ethnic, and Indigeus communities.”

Brazil, Latin America's largest country and a major global exporter, is currently serving a two-year term on U.N. Security Council. mission said that in Brasilia, ambassor will meet with government officials “to discuss our partnership in region and at United Nations.”

She will also meet Brazilians dealing with more than 250,000 Venezuelan migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in country and speak at University of Brasilia, mission said.

In Salvor, mission said, Thomas-Greenfield will underscore U.S. commitment to reinvigorate 2008 U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality and will eng with Afro-Brazilian civil society and young people.