Brasilia  - Outgoing US President George W Bush called Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to say goodbye Monday, Brazil's presidential spokesman Marcelo Baumbach said.

The conversation was said to have lasted 10 minutes. Bush - who is set to hand over power to Barack Obama Tuesday - invited Lula to visit him in his home state, Texas, while Lula invited Bush to go fishing in Brazil.

Baumbach said the conversation featured a "friendly" tone. Bush stressed that it had been an "honour" for him to govern the United States for eight years, and expressed his "gratitude" towards friendly leaders among whom he explicitly mentioned Lula.

The Brazilian, in turn, praised the association of both countries since he took over the presidency of the South American nation in 2003. (dpa)