The Floor of the Chamber approved on Thursday (6) six international agreements on biofuels, fight against drug trafficking, transferring of prisoners and sanitation. The agreements, which are being processed as Proposal to Legislative Decree (PDC) of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defence, will now be submitted for analysis of the Senate.

Africa
PDC 1385/09 approves an agreement with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) for the cooperation on the area of biofuels. The Union is comprised of Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senal, Guinea Bissau and Togo. This treaty provides the holding of seminars on the subject in order to exchange experiences and the exchange of technical and private sector missions. The agreements represent Brazil's support to the Regional Program for Biomass Energy of WAEMU.

It was also approved the agreement on technical cooperation between Brazil and Burkina Faso (PDC 2373/06) within the African continent. The agreement will enable the continuity of the actions already started in the area of health and the start of activities of cooperation in other areas of common interest, such as agriculture, cattle raising, irrigation in semi-arid and sports.

In the area of security, The Floor approved an agreement with Mozambique (PDC 664/08) on the transferring of persons convicted, with a final and binding decision (not subject to appeal). Among other conditions, the prisoner shall not be transferred from a country to another against their will or if the conviction is death penalty or life imprisonment, sentenced that do not exist in Brazil.

Caribbean
Likewise, the Floor approved the agreement on technical cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago (PDC 1393/09), located in a small archipelago within the Caribbean, next to Venezuela. In April, the country gained prominence for hosting the 5th Summit of the Americas, which put together heads of government of the American continent, when the agreement was signed.

Pakistan
It was approved an agreement with Pakistan in order to combat drugs production, consumption and traffic (PDC 46/07). Both countries are going to exchange information on traffic condemnation and routes.

Pakistan is the main international route for the traffic of heroin and other drugs deriving from opium. According to the report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the world production of opium and heroin has beaten the record in 2006, especially due to the increase on the cultivation of poppy (plant used as the drug’s raw material) within Afghanistan, which is neighbor to Pakistan.

Germany
Finally, it was approved the agreement between Brazil and Germany (PDC 663/08) for continuity of the Sanitation Project Ceará 2 (Projeto Saneamento Básico Ceará 2). From the 8.7 million Euro (approximately R$24 million) expected, 1 million will come from the German federal bank KfW (acronym for Credit Institute for Reconstruction) and other 7.7 million of a program that the German government financed in Sergipe, but that will be transferred for the cearense project.

Reporting – Marcello Larcher
Edition – Pierre Triboli
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Thiago L. Capatti