Amazon Summit To Begin in Brazil

The Amazon Summit, called by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will start today in the northern state of Pará to establish a common agenda for cooperation and development of the biome.

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Called the IV meeting of the presidents of the States Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, the meeting in Belém, capital of Pará, will be attended by the eight signatory countries of the instrument (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela).

Various representatives of different nations and international entities, including the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), are also invited to the Summit.

The presidential meeting was preceded by the Amazon Dialogues (August 4-6), whose program included more than 300 civil society events.

The results of the discussions will be presented to the heads of state or government of the Amazon countries, in an initiative that promotes social participation in the highest level segment of the summit.

As part of the forum, a meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Environment was held the day before, as a preparatory event for the presidential convocation.

The Brazilian Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, said at the end of the summit that the Amazonian territories will adopt the so-called Declaration of Belém, which establishes a new common agenda for regional cooperation in favor of the sustainable development of the rainforest.

Such a position that conciliates the protection of the biome and the hydrographic basin, social inclusion, the promotion of science, technology and innovation, stimulus to the local economy and valorization of the indigenous peoples and their ancestral knowledge.

Another objective of the meeting, which will last until Wednesday, is to strengthen ACTO so that it has the capacity to support the nations of the region in carrying out the initiatives and projects necessary for the sustainable development of the area.

The summit seeks that the Amazonian countries consolidate a unified position on the preservation of the biome to be presented at the next world climate summit (COP28), scheduled to be held in November in the United Arab Emirates.

According to Vieira, since its first day, the Lula government has been acting decisively to reverse the humanitarian disaster caused in recent years by the advance of illegal mining in Yanomami indigenous territory.

He said that with the meeting "we want to reactivate the channels of dialogue" and "through cooperation, we can find solutions together to our common challenges."