Washington, October 28 (RHC-Xinhua) -- The White House on Monday congratulated Dilma Rousseff on her re-election as Brazil's president, pledging to continue efforts to boost the bilateral relationship.

Spokesman Josh Earnest called Brazil "an important partner" for the United States, saying, "We are committed to continuing to work with President Rousseff to strengthen our bilateral relationship."

He said in a statement that President Barack Obama "looks forward to" calling Rousseff in the coming days to offer his personal congratulations and discuss increased cooperation on issues like security, human rights, education, energy and trade.

Rousseff was re-elected on Sunday by garnering 51.62 percent of the votes in the run-off election.

Bilateral ties were damaged when Rousseff canceled a planned trip to the United States in late October 2013 in protest against Washington's spying on her and her advisers' private communications.