President of Brazil to Visit on Wednesday

President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, His Excellency Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva will pay a working visit to the island on Wednesday and Thursday. The visit is a continuation of efforts to deepen cooperation between Jamaica and Brazil.

The President’s visit is in response to an invitation that was initially issued to him by former Prime Minister the Hon. P.J Patterson when he visited Brazil on 1st November 2005. The invitation was reiterated by Prime Minister the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller when she visited Brazil from the 11th to the 13th of July 2006, to participate in the II Conference of Intellectuals from Africa and the Diaspora and to engage in bilateral talks with the President. Prime Minister Simpson Miller together with Cabinet Ministers and officials, will welcome President Lula at the Norman Manley International on Wednesday evening. The President will be accompanied by his Minister of External Relations and Minister of Industry and External Trade.

The two leaders will hold private talks on Thursday morning before joining their respective delegations to advance discussions and strengthen cooperation on a range of bilateral regional and international issues. These will include continued focus on energy, agriculture with specific reference to technical assistance to the sugar industry as well as cooperation on science and technology, education, sports and culture, and social development.

Regional issues will include proposed CARICOM-MERCOSUR-Free Trade Area arrangements and developments in Haiti, while international concerns will include matters pertaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha round, UN Reform, World Summit follow up and multilateral cooperation in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Following the bilateral discussions Prime Minister Simpson Miller and President Lula will make a statement to the media.
President Lula will also pay a courtesy call on the Governor-General His Excellency the Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall at King’s House, and will receive a courtesy call from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Bruce Golding.

The President will attend the Commissioning/Opening Ceremony for the Jamaica Broilers Group Ethanol Dehydration Plant, Port Esquivel, St. Catherine. He will also attend the closing session of the business forum sponsored by JAMPRO/Private Sector, before departing on Thursday evening for Panama.

Assistance to the sugar industry and energy sector are important areas for discussion. Brazil has already committed to training Jamaicans in production and management practices in the sugar industry as well as identifying various sugar cane varieties that are adaptable to Jamaican conditions including those resistant to drought.

Talks have also been held with COSAN, Brazil’s largest sugar company with a view to their participation in the local sugar and ethanol sectors. The Jamaican Government is also interested in having Brazil’s state energy company Petrobas, participate in oil and gas exploration. Jamaica and Brazil signed agreements in February aimed at assisting the modernization of the sugar industry, the development of ethanol and technical cooperation in tropical fruit processing.

Brazil has also agreed to explore the possibility of providing technical assistance in the processing of a soya bean and the production of Castor Bean oil for use as bio fuel.