Cuba and Brazil are holding talks here to strengthen hi-tech cooperation in areas such as vaccines and other medical biotech products, local media reported on Wednesday.

The meetings are chaired by visiting Brazilian Minister of Science Sergio Machado Rezende and his Cuban counterpart Jose Miyar Barrueco, and attended by working groups of science, technology and innovation from both countries, said the official daily Granma.

Other topics at the talks include the development and applications of nanotechnology, renewable energy, biofuels, telecommunications, and the scholarships interchange.

Machado said the bilateral science exchange will also contribute to the integration process in Latin America, one of the priorities of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Cuba and Brazil signed in Feb. 2008 an Amendment to the Convention on Science, Technology and Innovation, which mainly covers the fields of radiopharmaceuticals, nanotechnology and renewable energy.