Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
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HAVANA, Cuba: Cuba's President, Mr. Fidel Castro, will meet his old friend, Brazilian President, Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, when the South American leader visits the island today, for two days of talks.
A major focus of the trip, according to AP, will be Mr. Silva's concern that Cuba does not "remain isolated from the concert of nations."
"If integration is to be achieved, Cuba cannot be left out," AP quoted Mr. Mario Marconini, executive director of the Brazilian Center for International Studies in Rio de Janeiro, as saying.
Economic issues will also be on the table during Silva's visit. Brazil's national Development Bank is negotiating a credit line of up to $400 million to finance Cuban imports of Brazilian machinery, farm equipment and food. In 2002 Brazil exported $95 million worth of products to Cuba and imported less than $10 million.
In the nine months since taking office, Mr. Silva has made regional integration the centerpiece of his foreign policy, visiting nearly every South American nation or meeting with their Presidents in Brasilia.
Cuban dissidents and their supporters have asked Mr. Silva to intervene on behalf of 75 activists, sentenced to long prison terms after a crackdown this year.
The Paris-based advocacy group, Reporters Without Borders, has asked the Brazilian president to press for the release of the 26 independent journalists among the 75 jailed dissidents.
But Brazilian diplomats have said the president has no plans to meet with dissidents on the island.
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