Diplomats and government representatives participating in the First Course on Amazon Diplomacy in Brasilia visited the headquarters of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) on Monday (31). The purpose of the visit and the course is to promote dialogue between countries and reflection on the dynamic and cooperative Amazon diplomacy structured by ACTO. The training precedes the Amazon Summit, which will take place on August 8 and 9 in Belém.
During the reception, the Executive Director of ACTO, Ambassador Carlos Lazary, recounted the history from the Amazon Cooperation Treaty signed in 1978 to the present day, when the Summit will be held, which will be attended by the eight heads of state of the member countries of the organization: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. “The Treaty is the basis for diplomats in training to continue cooperation actions in several other countries, including outside the Amazon region,” he explained.
Lazary introduced participants to the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO) and stressed the importance of securing financial resources for the Amazon Basin monitoring system to continue. “The great challenge of the Summit in Belém will be to ensure that this monitoring provided by the Observatory remains over time. The ARO is maintained today with project resources. The expectation is that the Belém Declaration will include the commitment of the countries to guarantee these financial resources, through State policies of the member countries”, he said.
The General Coordinator of Education of the Rio Branco Institute, Minister Paulo Cyprino, emphasized the role of ACTO in regional cooperation and as one of the main articulators with stakeholders for the protection and sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. “The purpose of the visit before the opening of the course today is to learn about the cooperation role of ACTO. The course is to promote dialogue between Amazonian countries, but also other countries that participate such as Japan, Cape Verde, Suriname and Argentina,” he said.
The opening of the course was attended by the Secretary General of ACTO, Alexandra Moreira. The course is held by the Rio Branco Institute, in partnership with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation (FUNAG), from 2 pm this Monday (31) until Thursday (3).
