Rio - A business and cultural mission coordinated by the Rio de Janeiro State Secretary of Energy, Shipbuilding, and Petroleum, Wagner Victer, is in Norway, where it is participating in the Eighth Offshore North Sea International Petroleum Congress (ONS), which begins today and runs through Thursday (26).

According to information furnished by the Secretariat's press office, the delegation from Rio consists of 80 members, including entrepreneurs, state government officials, members of the Vila Isabel United Samba School, capoeira practitioners, and chefs specialized in Brazilian cuisine.

The group from Rio will hold several business meetings, one of them with Norwegian shipbuilders who plan to invest in shipyards in Rio. Tomorrow (24) they will meet with Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja.

The press office also informs that on Wednesday (25) the mission will meet with the executive board of the Norwegian state petroleum company, Statoil, at Statoil headquarters. At this meeting Secretary Victer will present the results of the workshop on Business Opportunities in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Sectors of Rio de Janeiro. The gathering will also be attended by entrepreneurs and representatives of the National Organization of Petroleum Industries (ONIP).

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Nielmar de Oliveira
Translator: David Silberstein
08/23/2004