Fortaleza, March 16, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Seven governors from states in the Northeast region - Lúcio Alcântara from Ceará, Cássio Cunha Lima from Paraíba, João Alves Filho from Sergipe, Wellington Dias from Piauí, Paulo Souto from Bahia, Ronaldo Lessa from Alagoas, and Wilma Faria from Rio Grande do Norte - will meet today with the Minister of Tourism, Walfrido Mares Guia, and the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Enrique Iglesias.

Two documents will be signed at the encounter, one to extend a financing contract from 2002 and the other to open the second phase of the Prodetur Northeast Program for Rio Grande do Norte.

The resources, totaling US$ 800 million, will be transferred by the IDB to the states through the Bank of the Northeast (BNB), for the purpose of "reinforcing the expansion of the regional tourist infrastructure and consolidating the investments made during the initial phase of the Prodetur, which now serves as a model for other regions," according to the BNB's advisory staff.

The Prodetur investments amount to US$ 400 million, of which US$ 240 million are from the IDB and US$ 160 million, Brazilian counterpart funds, guaranteed by the states and the federal government, through the Ministry of Tourism. (DAS)