Rio de Janeiro hosted the Latin America World Economic Forum from 14 to 16 April. During the meeting of heads of state, government officials and business leaders, confidence in the strength of the Brazilian economy was reaffirmed. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who hosted the meeting, took the opportunity to lobby for Rio de Janeiro’s campaign for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Henrique Meirelles, president of Brazil’s central bank, expressed his confidence in the country’s economy. According to Meirelles, the economic stability achieved through tough government action, and the return to growth in employment in March (34,818 new jobs) are signals of recovery in the Brazilian economy.

“Brazil will certainly be one of the main global investment destinations as we come out of the crisis. There are currently few countries in which there are investors who are investing abroad as well as domestically. Just as it was growing strongly before the crisis, the important thing is that Brazil comes out of this crisis growing strongly once more,” said Meirelles, after taking part in the Latin America World Economic Forum, held at the Hotel Intercontinental in São Conrado, in Rio’s South Zone.

Shortly before giving his opening speech, President Lula took the opportunity to ask for the support of Columbian president Álvaro Uribe for Rio de Janeiro’s bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Uribe declared his support: “Rio has a very strong case,” he said. Another message of support for Rio was given by the founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab. “Rio is a beautiful city that one day will host the Olympics,” he said.