Bolvia president-elect ends visit to Brazil

Bolivia's President-elect Evo Morales ended his visit to Brazil on Friday, as part of an international tour seeking political support ahead of his inauguration due Jan. 22.

Morales, who arrived here on Thursday night from South Africa, met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday at the presidential palace in Planalto, Brasilia.

At the joint press conference following his meeting with Lula, Morales denied that his government would expropriate the properties of private companies, saying: "Bolivia will protect private enterprise. Bolivia has nailed down a lot of public and private investment."

Morales said his future government will seek partners in line with new legislation covering the energy sector, but the state would exercise its property rights over the country's natural resources.

Although the country will renegotiate oil and gas exploration contracts, the new government will not break promises or act irresponsibly, he added.

"We will respect private companies, but we will be radical with those which smuggle or do not pay their taxes," he said. Bolivia wants a balanced relationship with companies that operate in the country, based on mutual respect, he added.

In a related development, Thomas Shannon, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said on Friday that the government of George W Bush expects to "briefly meet" with Morales.

Shannon told a press conference at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires that he wants the United States to have a meeting to "define its bilateral relationship" with Bolivia.

The White House respected the historical importance of Morales's victory in the Bolivian polls last month, in which he won 54 percent of the vote, he added.

Morales is the first Bolivian president from an indigenous background in Bolivia's history, although the country has an indigenous majority.

Source: Xinhua