The House Floor approved cooperation agreements on Information Technology, criminal matters and energy efficiency, among others.

On Wednesday (10), the Chamber approved 11 international agreements, among them one on IT cooperation among Brazil, South Africa and India (Legislative Decree Bill - PDC 347/07). That agreement was signed in 2006, during the first summit among those three countries for their common development, called Ibas. Sectors such as digital inclusion and electronic government are among the areas provided for, for that cooperation.

The approved bills will follow to Senate.

Criminal matters
Two agreements on criminal matters were approved, one with Honduras (PCD 666/08), and another with Mexico (PDC 799/08), on mutual legal assistance to fight against crime. That assistance includes the gathering of testimonies, the localization and identification of people and the search, seizure and confiscation of crime products, among other measures.

Another approved agreement (PDC 1392/09) defines a strip measuring 10 m (from each side), which should be free from constructions at the border of Brazil and Paraguay, in urban areas. A former agreement, signed by the two countries in 1980, has already established a 25-meter stripe in the rural zone. The restriction to constructions in the urban zone will be added to it.

PDC 2143/06, though, approves the joining of Brazil to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). According to the government, in less than 10 years Brazil will go from an importer to a substantial copper exporter, since it has reserves evaluated in 17.4 million tons, 87% of them located in Pará.

The House also approved the following agreements:

- PDC 790/08: an air-service agreement between Brazil and Senegal, to facilitate the transportation of load and passengers between the two countries, aiming at the increase in bi-lateral economic relations.

- PDC 793/08: a cultural agreement with Spain, to regulate the operation of cultural centers in the two countries.

- PDC 854/08: an understanding memorandum with Denmark, to foster the cooperation in the renewable energies and energetic-efficiency area, focusing on energetic sources, including ethanol and biodiesel.

- PDC 1051/08: an agreement with Nicaragua, allowing relatives of diplomatic and consular representatives to exert remunerated activities.

- PDC 856/08: that agreement ratifies amendments to the International Convention on Standards for Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Those changes result from technological evolution and from the experience collected during investigations of accidents involving vessels.

- PDC 1352/08: That agreement ratifies changes on the convention of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), provided for in a protocol signed by the members of that institution in 2005, whose objective is to restructure it.

Report - Marcello Larcher
Editing - Pierre Triboli
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda