Obama: US supports rise of Brazil's economy

President Barack said he "enthusiastically" welcomed Brazil's rise as an economic power Saturday as he opened a three-country, five-day tour of Latin America aimed at strengthening U.S. economic ties with the region.

Shortly after arriving in the highland capital of Brasilia, Obama met with the country's newly elected President Dilma Rousseff at the presidential palace, the Palacio do Planalto. Obama lauded the U.S. trade relationship with Brazil, but said there was much more the two countries could do to boost their economic relationship, particularly in the clean energy sector.

Brazil stands out for its strategic and economic importance to the United States. As the world's seventh-largest economy, it is a member of an exclusive club of influential developing nations along with Russia, India and China, collectively known in economic circles as the BRIC nations. Obama is looking to reset the U.S. relationship with Brazil, an emerging economic power that even without being hostile has annoyed Washington with its independent ways.

Obama's trip threatens to be overshadowed by the ominous developments in earthquake-ravaged Japan, where officials struggle to prevent a meltdown at a damaged nuclear power plant, and in Libya, where a U.S. and European coalition launched a risky military operation to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces.