Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met his old friend Fidel Castro today during a visit to Cuba that he has stressed will focus on business.
After their talks Lula and Castro were expected to preside over the signing of a series of cooperation agreements.
Lula's two-day visit to the communist-run nation is as a test of his delicate relationship with Washington and of his readiness to champion human rights as he seeks to carve out a role as a world statesman.
Lula made clear on the eve of the trip that he would not broach the human rights issue because the focus would be on boosting commercial ties.
"We have agreements to sign and celebrate ... I don't give opinions about the internal political conditions of other countries," Lula said on Thursday at the end of a trip to Mexico.
Brazil is trying to regain its place as Cuba's 10th trade partner, which was taken over by the United States last year under a softening of U.S. sanctions on the island allowing food sales for cash.
"More than 10 agreements will be signed in such areas as energy, fishing, tourism, medicines, industrial cooperation, health, education and sports," a foreign ministry official told Reuters, asking to remain anonymous.
The Brazilian Development Bank is considering granting Cuba a credit line of up to $400 million to finance imports from Brazil.
State-run Petroleo Brasileiro opened an office in Cuba last week and may explore for oil off Cuba's northern coast and help return a dormant refinery to production.
But the fate of 75 people rounded up in March in a crackdown on dissent loomed as a potential shadow over the visit, with Lula under pressure from governments and rights activists to show support for dissidents and lobby for their release.
The dissidents were sentenced to long prison terms after being charged with working for the United States to subvert the government. They deny the charges, describing themselves as human rights and democracy activists.
Lula and Castro have been friends for decades. Castro, who took power in 1959, presides over the sole one-party state in the Americas and one that maintains a largely state-controlled economy. In contrast, Lula has sought to shed his radical past and has won favor in international financial circles.