Lula says Brazil, with its history of slaving, owes Africa a debt

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gave his support to the project on a visit to the southern African state.

"We intend to produce anti-retroviral drugs here... in the shortest possible time," said the leader who is best known by his nickname Lula.

He was speaking on a five-nation tour of the continent which is also due to take him to Namibia and South Africa.

Brazil has emerged as something of a model for the developing world in the fight against the HIV/Aids epidemic, having developed cheap copycat generic drugs to the anger of global pharmaceutical companies.

An aggressive and highly effective campaign to promote safe sex in the media has also helped the Latin American giant keep the infection rate to less than 1% of its population.

BRAZIL AND AFRICA Brazil, like African states such as Angola, Mozambique and Sa Tome, is a former Portuguese colony and they still speak the same language From the 16th to the 19th Century, one in three of black slaves shipped to the New World ended up in Brazil and today only Nigeria has a larger black population

This contrasts sharply with infection rates in southern Africa where they are known to reach 30% in parts and about 16% in Mozambique specifically.

Brazil was earlier said to be planning to construct three factories in Africa as a whole but Lula would not be drawn on the exact timetable for construction, saying only on Wednesday that it would be "in the near future".

"The fight against HIV/Aids is one of the greatest challenges for us and we are confident that Brazil's... rich experience in this regard will be a valuable contribution to our struggle against the epidemic," Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said on Wednesday at his meeting with Lula in the capital, Maputo.

The Brazilian leader's visit to Mozambique was due to include a tour of a centre for treating sufferers in the city.

Trade campaign

Lula and his Mozambican counterpart also discussed commercial ties and Mr Chissano voiced support for the Brazilian leader's campaign against farm subsidies in wealthy nations which undermine developing countries' export markets.

"We are sure that the role of Brazil will be crucial in our efforts against the... farm subsidies and the struggle to obtain access for our products to the markets of the developed world," he said.

Lula began his African tour with visits to two other former Portuguese colonies - Sao Tome and Principe, and Angola - where he held talks on developing trade and other ties.