Top Brazil official in Manila for talks

MANILA, Philippines - Brazil’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary General Policy II Maria Edileuza Fontenelle Reis will arrive tomorrow in Manila for a bilateral consultation with her local counterpart.

At the celebration for the 188th anniversary of the independence of Brazil yesterday, Brazilian Ambassador Alcides Prates said the bilateral consultation between Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Fontenelle will take place on Friday.

Fontenelle will proceed to Manila after Singapore. She will leave the country on Saturday to visit Dubai.

Trade and investments, diplomatic relation and agreements signed between the Philippines and Brazil are on the agenda for the bilateral consultation.

“Our Foreign Ministry Undersecretary General is arriving for a meeting. Undersecretary Basilio is hosting her for a meeting,” Prates told The STAR.

In June 2009, the Philippines and Brazil signed mutual cooperation agreements in the fields of bio-energy and agriculture.

The Philippines and Brazil signed six memoranda of understanding and agreements on the development and production of renewable energy, and agriculture cooperation. It intends to “facilitate technical cooperation on the production and use of biofuels, particularly ethanol, and promote the expansion of bilateral trade and investment in biofuel.”