BRASILIA: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has held a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and discussed matters of mutual interest. Local media reported that they agreed to collaborate on protecting the Amazon rainforest and intensifying efforts to combat climate change.
During the meeting, the two leaders also signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement on decarbonization and other environmental issues. Kishida said Japan is ready to work with Brazil, this year’s chair of the Group of 20 major economies (G20), to address global issues.
Brazil is set to host COP30, the UN climate change conference, next year. During the term of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest, faced significant deforestation every year.
However, last year, Brazil’s government reported a 22.3% reduction in illegal logging and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest between August 2022 and July 2023.
