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News item | 11-04-2008
The Netherlands and Brazil plan to cooperate more closely in several areas, including biofuels. The two countries enjoy close ties, said prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
Prime Minister Balkenende was speaking at a government lunch, part of the two-day state visit to the Netherlands by President Lula da Silva of Brazil. Mr Balkenende said that Brazil 'has everything it needs to strengthen its leading role on the world stage.'
Mr Balkenende expressed
great appreciation for the President's personal efforts to eliminate hunger
and poverty from the world. 'A struggle in which you will find the
Netherlands fighting tirelessly at your side,' he said.
Mr Balkenende pointed out that the two countries enjoy close ties in other areas, too. Having invested 5.15 billion euros in Brazil in 2007, the Netherlands is one of the country's biggest foreign investors, and Rotterdam is Europe's biggest port of entry for Brazilian products.
The Netherlands and Brazil have signed five cooperative agreements: in the areas of common cultural heritage, water management, education, port logistics, and biofuels. HM Queen Beatrix and President Lula da Silva attended the signing ceremony.
In a speech, foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said that globalisation also calls for cooperation. He believes that 'the interests of Dutch citizens are not so different to those of the Brazilian people.'
One of those interests is respect for human rights. Mr Verhagen believes that Brazil has shown leadership in this regard. The Netherlands and Brazil are working hard together to turn the UN's Human Rights Council into a 'credible and effective organisation'.
Climate change is another area where the Netherlands is encouraging Brazil to take a lead, said Mr Verhagen. Brazil has a key role to play as chair of the working group conducting negotiations on a new climate agreement.
Mr Verhagen also believes
that the new climate agreement should include effective measures against
deforestation - especially relevant for Brazil given the logging that is
taking place in the Amazon.
Brazil is one of the world's biggest producers of ethanol. So it faces the challenge of complying with the EU's new sustainability requirements for biofuels.
The Netherlands and Brazil have agreed to cooperate more closely in the production, logistics, and transport of biofuels. The two countries will also work together to help developing countries set up sustainable projects.