Next week, Brazil and Finland should sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of clean development mechanisms under the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement, still under negotiation, should be established during an official visit of the Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Finland, scheduled for September 10 and 11.
"Basically, the MoU focuses not only in the negotiation of carbon credits, but also in cooperation aimed at disseminating clean energy sources", said the ambassador Maria Edileuza Fontenele Reis, head of the European Department at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Trade. A similar commitment was set with Denmark in April this year.
The environmental issue will only be one of the issues under discussion in the return visit, a follow-up to that of president Tarja Halonen to Brazil, in 2003.
The two countries will also discuss mutual candidacies to international organizations, and will review matters pertaining to the multilateral agenda, such as the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations (UN), negotiations between the Mercosur and the European Union, the UN reform, and the Doha round of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
"Finland is not one of the most open countries in terms of subsidies, but we will always reiterate our interest in successfully concluding the round," said the ambassador.
Regarding the UN reform, Finland is a co-sponsor to the proposal by the group comprised of Brazil, India, Germany and Japan for reforming the Security Council – the G4 proposed an increase in the number of members, up from 15 to 25, with a greater number of permanent and non-permanent seats.
"This is a field in which our interests coincide to a certain extent," she said. According to the ambassador, the country might use the occasion of President Lula's visit to announce its support to Brazil's ambition for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
ABr
