Edla Lula
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Pop star Bono met with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this weekend for lunch at the Granja do Torto (a presidential retreat just outside the city of Brasilia). Bono said that he intends to donate the guitar he uses in his shows in São Paulo to the Zero Hunger program.

Speaking to Radiobras, Bono said that he believed Zero Hunger was a viable program. "It is something that is possible. But it has to be organized, it has to have a strategy. And it must not be seen as just a leftist thing. If you want to eliminate hunger, everybody has to be involved," he said.

Bono said he meeting with Lula "was great and the lunch was marvelous." He went on to say that the 21st century should be Latin America's century, "and Brazil is the Latin American leader." He said that Lula was something new in the world.

This was the second time Bono and Lula have gotten together. They first met in Davos at the World Economic Summit last year.

The Lula-Bono lunch consisted of typical Brazilian dishes and fruit. The beverages served were non-alcoholic.

Translation: Allen Bennett