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(CNN) -- Representatives from Brazil and Iran met this week and agreed to enhance relations between the two countries, a signal that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will follow the example of her predecessor and demonstrate Brazil's diplomatic independence by dealing with a nation under scrutiny for its nuclear program.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Ahani and his Brazilian counterpart, Maria Edileuza Fontenele, met Tuesday, Iran's state-run Press TV reported.

The deputies called for "the speedy implementation of agreements" reached by the two countries in the past. Such cooperation includes areas such as agriculture, biofuels and technology.

Fontenele described Iran as one of "the most important partners of Brazil" and an "influential" country in the world, Press TV reported.

Such praise for Iran is likely to make observers in the United States and other countries cringe, as Tehran is under recent sanctions for its alleged nuclear weapons program. But Brazil, an emerging economic and political power, appears intent to try to make room for itself at the table of diplomatic powers by inserting itself in some of the world's most challenging conflicts. Iran is one of them.

Last year, Brazil -- which at the time held a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council -- voted against sanctions for Iran, instead touting its own negotiations, along with Turkey, to resolve the standoff. >>>