Anthony Hylton, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, will be leaving today for Brazil to strengthen bilateral cooperation in relation to sugar cane and ethanol.

According to a release from the Ministry of Finance, the minister, who will be in Brazil for two days, will also discuss security cooperation, air services, Portuguese language training and trade policy issues, including the World Trade Organisation Doha round.

While in Brazil, Mr. Hylton will also meet with representatives of the Brazilian sugar cane industry, as a follow-up to a visit made by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to Brazil last year, where a line of credit of US$100 million was secured.

The line of credit, which is available through Brazil's National Bank of Economic and Social Development, will be used for the importation of machinery and agricultural equipment for use in the sugar industry, as well as for the production of alcohol and ethanol.