currently participates in the Fourth Meeting of Heads of State and Government of Countries Signatory to the
, which is taking place in Brazil.
The meeting takes place at the Plenary Hall of the Convention Center in Belem do Para.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva inaugurated the meeting at which the eight Amazon countries are expected to propose joint solutions to the serious challenges facing the biome, such as deforestation, illegal mining, and drug trafficking.
It is the first meeting of the bloc since 2009, when the Brazilian progressive leader convened his Amazon partners in the city of Manaus.
In addition to Lula, Presidents Luis Arce (Bolivia), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), and Dina Boluarte (Peru) participate in this gathering.
Venezuelan dignitary Nicolas Maduro, afflicted with otitis, did not travel to the summit. Therefore, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez attends the event on his behalf.
Presidents Guillermo Lasso (Ecuador), Chan Santokhi (Suriname), and Irfaan Ali (Guyana) are not attending the event either due to various reasons. However, these countries are represented at the summit by other members of their cabinets.
On Wednesday, the meeting will be attended by representatives of other invited countries: Indonesia, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, France, Germany, and Norway.
Amazonia
The Amazon has an area of 6.3 million square kilometers and is home to the world's largest hydrographic basin.
Besides, close to 50 million people live inside —most of them in precarious situation.
In 2022, deforestation in the Amazon reached almost 20,000 square kilometers, 21% higher than in 2021. It was the highest figure since 2004, according to data from the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) —with Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru leading the statistics.
The scientific community has warned that the Amazon forest is approaching "a point of no return," a stage in which the jungle will lose its capacity for regeneration and will gradually become a savannah.