Another issue of central importance in the domestic agenda of the MERCURIC in recent years is related to the productive integration and the development of competitiveness at regional level. For even more details, read what investor says on the issue. From the year 2006 came the initiative to move towards regional productive integration with social development, with emphasis on the promotion of regional productive ventures that include integrated networks, especially by SMEs and cooperatives. The program contains seven lines of action at horizontal level: cooperation among agencies related to entrepreneurial and productive development, complementing in research, development and technology transfer, training of human resources, articulation with other instances of the MERCURIC, the generation of information and its processing, articulation of facilitation measures for trade and financing, among other actions that will decide. At the sectoral level, the programmed envisages the development of forums for competitiveness and integration initiatives. In line with the objectives set out in the above-mentioned Decision, recently approved the creation of a MERCURIC Fund of guarantees for Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (Decision CMC No. 41/08), intended to ensure, directly or indirectly, credit operations contracted by micro, small and medium-sized companies that engage in productive integration in the MERCOSUR. The initial total contribution of States parties to the MERCURIC Fund of guarantees will be of US $100,000,000, integrated according to the following percentages: Argentina 27%, 70%, Paraguay Brazil Uruguay 2% and 1%. Like the FOCEM, Fund allows benefits to be obtained from inversely proportional way made contributions…

Energy cooperation at the regional level has been another theme to which States parties have paid particular attention in recent years, taking into account common interests in relation to the development of safe, environmentally sustainable and renewable energy sources. In December 2006, the States parties of MERCOSUR and Venezuela signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a special working group on biofuels, which must deal with the elaboration of a programme of cooperation in the area of biofuels which considers the importance strategic energy cooperation between members of the block we are reminded and says, which in Brazil, entrepreneurs think the Venezolana-Brasilera economy is complementary and joint projects that allow them to work in third countries can develop. Within these projects highlight the possibility to strengthen further the partnership between Brazilians Petroleos S.A. (Petrobras) and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (P.D.V.S.A.), to form a binational company that would work with the trade name of Petroamerica at present, Brazil and Venezuela to develop four important physical integration projects: the road to contact Venezuela to Manaus, railway interconnection of the southern Orient of Venezuela and the North of Brazil, the electrical interconnection between the Venezuelan Guri company and that same Amazon capital, zona franca and important Brazilian industrial center.