'Brazil should have greater role in int'l affairs'

BRAZIL: French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that Brazil should have a greater role in international affairs, including a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

Sarkozy, on the first day of a visit expected to include an arms deal with Latin America's largest nation, praised Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for promoting global environmental awareness.

"We need President Lula as a permanent member in the Security Council and we need him to lead the issue of the preservation of the environment," Sarkozy said at the beginning of a Brazil-European Union summit.

Sarkozy and Silva are expected to sign an agreement promoting the sustainable development and protection of the Amazon rain forest, as well as an arms deal which includes the transfer of French technology to help Brazil build four conventional submarines and the hull of Latin America's first nuclear submarine.

Rio De Janeiro, Tuesday, AP