Santa Cruz de La Sierra (Bolivia), July 9, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Yesterday (8), Brazil and Bolivia took another step to boost the two countries' relations in the energy field, especially in the production and sale of natural gas. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the President of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, expressed their intention to construct a gas-chemical pole in the border region, near the cities of Corumbá in Brazil and Puerto Suárez in Bolivia. "We plan to install a binational gas-chemical pole in Bolivia to industrialize Bolivia's mineral wealth," Lula stated.

The Brazilian President also manifested the desire to build a Gas Technology Center, so that the product can be converted into "a powerful engine of progress," for both Bolivians and Brazilians. In Lula's judgment, the Bolivian nation has been enhancing its qualifications in the energy sector to take advantage of the gas in a rational manner, as well as to assure the country favorable economic results.

"Brazil wants to help enable Bolivia to export products with greater added value to the Brazilian and international markets," Lula said.

The President of Bolivia, Carlos Mesa, guaranteed that his country will move forward with the promises in the energy sector, and he emphasized the importance of these measures to Bolivia's economic recovery. "The binational gas-chemical pole can increase the added value of our most important raw material," Mesa said.

Besides the advances in the energy field, the two heads of state signed a series of bilateral agreements in the political and economic area. One of the agreements authorizes the free circulation of Brazilians and Bolivians in the two countries' frontier region, as well as eliminating the need for a passport to enter Brazil or Bolivia. Another agreement authorizes the Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) to disburse US$ 600 million for highway projects, particularly the highway linking Santa Cruz de La Sierra to Brazil, which will also serve as part of a route between Bolivia and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Brazilian government also pardoned a large portion of Bolivia's debt to Brazil, calculated to be worth US$ 48 million. The Bolivians will pay only US$ 2.16 million and, in return, will cede the building in La Paz where the Chancellery of the Brazilian Embassy is located. According to President Lula, the agreement to pardon the debt "expresses the certainty that the Bolivian nation will know how to overcome the historical obstacles to its development."

Reporter: Gabriela Guerreiro
Translator: David Silberstein