Portugal's minister for Foreign affairs Augusto Santos Silva highlighted Portugal's solidarity with Brazil on Thursday, where the senate voted to put President Dilma Rousseff on suspension for breaking budget laws.

"Portugal reinforces, repeats, reaffirms its availability to cooperate with the Brazilian nation and the Brazilian authorities in different areas of cooperation," Santos Silva told Portuguese Lusa News Agency.

He said the situation in Brazil would not affect the Portuguese community in Brazil but that exports and national investment could be affected due to the financial crisis.

"The faster Brazil's institutional issue is resolved, the sooner there will be conditions, also from a political point of view, for public policies which can help the Brazilian economy and its recovery," he pointed out.

The minister also said Portugal respected Brazil's internal decisions.

"Brazil is a brother country of Portugal, Portugal is a brother country of Brazil," he said. "We respect the internal decisions of Brazil and we cooperate with the new Brazilian president and its government, in the same local way we collaborate with Dilma Rousseff's government and with the previous governments."

Suspended Brazilian President Rousseff says she will fight to prove her innocence, claiming the impeachment is fraudulent.

The senate voted on Thursday 55-22 to suspend her, which could end in Rousseff being removed from office.

Source: XINHUA