Brasilia, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Monday, ahead of this week's Amazon summit, that the region must be a "space for generating wealth for the people, not a sanctuary," and that this is the vision he seeks to convey to all world leaders.
The president made the remarks in the northern state of Pará, where he will participate in the Fourth Meeting of Presidents of the States Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela) on Tuesday and Wednesday in the state capital, Belém.
At an event in the city of Santarém, where he inaugurated an information highway that will bring internet access to three million people, he emphasized that he had successfully secured Belém's appointment as the host of the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in 2025.
"When I invited them, I told them, 'We have to do it in the Amazon so they realize that the Amazon isn't just the treetops,'" he said of the event.
And he added: "Millions of Amazonians live there, who want to live well, work, eat, have what they produce, and they want to preserve it, not as a sanctuary, but as a source of learning for science around the world."
Lula da Silva today inaugurated Infovía 01, which connects Santarém with Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, via a fiber optic cable that will bring internet access to the communities located between the two municipalities.
The Amazon summit on Tuesday was convened by the Brazilian leader to develop a development agenda for the region and a common proposal to take to COP28, which will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this year.
In addition to the eight signatory countries of the agreement, representatives from invited countries and international organizations, including the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, will also be present.
