Rio, May 4, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, Márcio Fortes de Almeida, told the "Manaus Duty-free Zone and Western Amazônia: Opportunities and Business" conference today in Rio de Janeiro that the II Amazônia International Fair, which will be held from September 15-18 in Manaus, Northern Brazil, should attract investors and exhibitors from all over the world.

According to Almeida, the Manaus Duty-free Zone now represents an export base for the country, "not merely an import-substitition zone, as it was in the past." He recalled that the Duty-free Zone exported US$ 1.3 billion in 2003.

The superintendent of the Manaus Duty-free Zone, Flávia Skrobot Barbosa Grosso, who was also present at the event, spoke about the Superintendency's activities in the region. She stressed that the regional development model formulated by the Brazilian government for the Manaus Duty-free Zone became a success and created an industrial pole with over 400 companies, generating over 400 thousand direct and indirect jobs.

Translator: David Silberstein