U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said their expanded collaboration in biofuels would advance shared objectives of energy security, sustainable development and environmental protection, the U.S. State Department said in a release. The two were attending the International Biofuels Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In addition, the United States and Brazil said they would work with five countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean interested in developing their domestic biofuels industries, the State Department said.

"This cooperation is the result of the reciprocal scientific exchanges and high-level visits that have occurred over the last year under the aegis of U.S.-Brazil biofuels cooperation," the State Department said.