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A. LE FLOCH
BRASILIA, Brazil: The presidents of Brazil and Senegal on Wednesday signed an agreement opening the way for the production and use of biofuels in Senegal and in the rest of Africa.
Biofuels will provoke a revolution in Africa," Senegal's leader Abdoulaye Wade said in a speech after the meeting. "The entire (African) continent wants to explore all possibilities ... to become a major biofuel supplier."
The agreement was one of three signed by Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his guest, who is on a two-day visit to Latin America's biggest country.
"We have abundant, clean and cheap sources of energy," Silva said in a speech. "Under Senegal's leadership, we want to take this initiative to other African nations that do not produce oil."
Brazil is the world's No. 1 sugar producer and exporter, and the leading exporter of ethanol made from sugarcane. It also is the world's second-largest ethanol producer after the United States, and is ramping up production of soybean-based biodiesel.
Brazilian ethanol makers produced 17 billion liters (4.5 billion gallons) last year, and exported 3.4 billion liters (900 million gallons).