More than one year after it closed its loss making sugar industry, St. Kitts and Nevis has been included in a United States and Brazil funded project on bio fuels.

A government statement Friday said that the twin island Federation, along with El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, would be the initial focus of the U.S.-Brazil Biofuels Partnership's outreach program.

"With the help of the United States and Brazil, these nations could become less dependent on oil imports by switching their economies to bio fuels, according to U.S. and Brazilian officials," the statement said.

Under the partnership, the world's two largest ethanol producers are committed to helping less-developed countries in the Western Hemisphere promote production of biofuels from local crops. The partnership also intends to advance the research in and development of more efficient biofuel technologies and to work toward a greater convergence of bio fuels standards around the world.

The partnership, with support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), is funding feasibility studies to determine types of sugarcane best suited to local conditions and examine other factors such as soil quality, environmental impact and the potential for rural development.