The foreign ministers and senior representatives of the eight Amazonian countries approved 29 resolutions during the XIV Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty, held today (Nov. 23) at ACTO headquarters. These resolutions, adopted within the framework of ACTO, implement the presidential mandates emanating from the Belém Declaration, adopted by the heads of state during the Amazon Summit held in August in Belém, Brazil.
The meeting was chaired by Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, who pointed out that in just over two months since the Amazon Summit, the eight countries have managed to draw up an ambitious plan for the Amazon region. “These are initiatives in favor of sustainable development, the promotion of health, the fight against the illegal exploitation of timber and economic resources, the promotion of science and technology and the improvement of living conditions for families living in the forest,” he said.
In her speech, OTCA Secretary Alexandra Moreira stressed the importance of strengthening the Amazon’s identity in order to take advantage of the region’s potential as a provider of solutions in the environmental, social, economic and cultural spheres. “While other continents are already talking about the ecological transition, the digital technological age and now the biological age, in the Amazon we are still talking about the fulfillment of basic services and social and economic obligations that should have been resolved a long time ago,” she said.
At the same time, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, who attended as a guest, said that dialog and strengthening regional cooperation is a priority for the Brazilian government. “We want to move forward in building an objective agenda with clear instruments aimed at the protection and sustainable use of the forest.”
Participants included: Albert Ramdim, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Suriname; Yván Gil, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Carlos Alberto Velástegui, Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Brazil; Romulo Acurio Traverso, Ambassador of the Republic of Peru; Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia.
The Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization was represented by the Secretary General, Alexandra Moreira, the Executive Director, Ambassador Carlos Lazary, and the Administrative Director, Carlos Salinas.
