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It is with great satisfaction that the Swedish-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (Swedcham Brazil) informs its readers that 2004 was an excellent year for the Swedcham Brazil in particular and Swedish-Brazilian relations in general.

The year was marked by high-level meetings on both sides, which began with Policy Coordination Minister Pär Nuder and Minister for International Economic Affairs and Financial Markets Gunnar Lund's visits to Brazil in February and March, respectively, continued with Industry and Trade Minister Leif Pagrotsky's stay in June and culminated with the four-day mission in August to Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Finland) of Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Luiz Fernando Furlan, and Juan Quirós, president of the Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (APEX).

It is very important to point out here that, during Furlan's stay in Scandinavia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was invited to visit Sweden in 2005-a visit that was promptly accepted and is expected to take place next May or June. During his visit, Furlan said that the government expects to increase exports to Sweden threefold over the next few years.

Bilateral trade is certainly on the up and up in various industries-not least in bioenergy, a vital sector that will most certainly attract important business opportunities on both sides, which are major players in this area.

Finally, we would like to wish Swedcham Brazil members and friends all the very best for 2005, which promises to be another great year full of exciting activities and developments.

Johan Fager
Managing Director, Swedish-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce

As of March, Innovation Norway will be leaving São Paulo and centralizing its operations in Rio de Janeiro (where it already has an office), the main strategic reason being that we wish to become even more qualified to offer increasingly better services to our customers- particularly in the maritime and oil & gas sectors. Erik Hannisdal, who has been my deputy for several years, will be taking over as head of the Innovation Norway office in Brazil, being in charge of an extremely competent team.

The massive participation of Norwegian companies (topping 50-more than British firms, and an all-time record) in the Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference in Rio last October is more than proof of this competence, as well the huge market demand and, consequently, the need to gather forces in this city.

In this issue we are dedicating the main article to the bioenergy sector. This is certainly an important global issue, and one of considerable interest both in Norway and Brazil. Although it is not a member of the EU, Norway has been spearheading the whole concept of the Kyoto Protocol. The two countries can mutually benefit from cooperation in this promising sector, both as far as technology and raw materials are concerned.

Since this will be my last editorial as head of Innovation Norway in Brazil, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Norwegian and Swedish business communities for providing interesting challenges and valued collaboration. Farewells are never easy, but I have decided to move on and go back to the private sector. Currently, I am in the process of studying various opportunities, which I hope will soon bear fruit.

César Bueno Garrubo
Managing Director, Innovation Norway