Brazil and Senegal create new economic and cultural bridges

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FIESP hosts Senegal-Brazil meeting

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São Paulo - 05/26/2009 - Brazil and Senegal have established new commercial and cultural bridges.

Brazilian and Senegalese executives and diplomats held important meetings this Tuesday at the Federation of the Industries of the State of São Paulo – FIESP. During his visit to FIESP, President Abdoulaye Wade asked for a stronger presence of Brazilian companies in Senegal, stressing that his country is a safe harbor for foreign investments. President Wade emphasized that after having implemented sound economic policies, his country was now looking forward to join the so called emerging nations group. “We want to talk about development”, he said. President Wade pointed out that Senegal was now a democracy in the African Continent that offered legal stability for foreign investors; that his country’s projects in infra-structure, energy, telecommunications, information, agribusiness and mining are transforming that part of the continent. Brazil and Senegal have signed a biofuel cooperation agreement in Brasília, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and President Abdoulaye Wade consecrated their commitment to making Africa a major biofuel supplier. President Lula da Silva stressed his country's willingness to share its world leading biodiesel and ethanol expertise with the countries of the 'Green OPEC': "Under the leadership of Senegal, we want to extend this initiative to other non-oil producing African countries." President Abdoulaye Wade stated: "Biofuels are going to provoke a revolution in Africa. The entire continent is set to become a major supplier of green fuels, because it has what is needed: abundant land, water, sunlight and creativity. Biofuels offer an extraordinary opportunity to generate employment and to make agriculture more sustainable. Therefore, we have decided to launch the production of biofuels not only in Senegal, but across Africa, by drawing on Brazilian knowledge, technology and expertise." Brazil's Pro-Biodiesel program, Lula's own project, differs considerably from the Pro-Alcool program that was created 30 years ago. Under the new model "farmers remain owners of their land and work on their own soils, while at the same time producing feedstocks for larger investors with who they make win-win agreements within a clear legal framework"; in other words, Brazil's "Social Fuel" policy is aimed at making this model work, so that it benefits small farmers. President Lula further elaborated on the need for South-South integration: "It is much easier for a Brazilian businessman to go to Europe or to the United States to set up shop. He is not going to do business in Africa. The same is true for a Senegalese businessman. But we have to change this situation. We can only speak of genuine South-South integration when we establish a presence in a country of the South, each time we do so in the North." Brazil is becoming more active on the African continent. Last year, it established an Africa-cell of its leading agricultural research agency EMBRAPA in Accra, Ghana. From there, delegations have visited countries across the continent (including Mozambique, Angola and Morocco), to help assess the biofuel opportunity and to assist them with exploiting their untapped agricultural potential in a sustainable way. Brazil is also creating forms of trilateral 'South-North-South' cooperation with European countries who are willing to invest in Africa's bioenergy potential. An example is Brazil's agreement with Italy, or that with the UK and Sweden. (More images of President Abdoulaye Wade’s visit to the Federation of the Industries of the State of São Paulo – FIESP, can be seen on File FIESP at : < www.flickr.com/photos/vascopress>) .