Cairo - Brazil is close to closing a free trade agreement with Egypt, reports minister of Development, Luiz Fernando Furlan. The minister is accompanying president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his Middle East trip.

According to Furlan, Brazil - Egypt trade talks are now well-advanced. The two countries are discussing concessions. The final treaty could be advantageous to important sectors of the Brazilian economy, such as the automobile industry.

Furlan said the Brazil - Egypt trade agreement should be finalized in 2004, along with the Mercosur-South Africa agreement, and others with the Andean Pact, the European Union, and the Free Trade Area of the Americas. (AB)