Lula participates in the OTCA Presidents' Summit in Bogotá and reaffirms commitment to the Amazon.
In Colombia, Brazil will also present its own proposal: the creation of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), a fund estimated at US$125 billion.
247 - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be in Bogotá next Thursday (21) to participate in the V Summit of Presidents of States Parties to the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACTO). The meeting in the Colombian capital was scheduled for Friday (22), at Casa de Nariño, headquarters and residence of President Gustavo Petro. From January to July 2025, bilateral trade reached US$ 3 billion. Brazilian exports totaled US$ 2 billion, and imports were US$ 1,1 billion, generating a Brazilian surplus of R$ 901,2 million. At the meeting, Brazil will also present its own proposal: the creation of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), a fund estimated at US$ 125 billion to finance developing countries that preserve their forests. Unlike other mechanisms, the TFFF will be structured as an investment, not as a donation.
Colombia ranks 23rd among the destinations for Brazilian exports – vehicles intended for passenger transport, cargo and special uses, parts and accessories for automotive vehicles, soybean meal, unroasted coffee and other diverse products from the chemical industries.
Brazil imports mainly coke and semi-coke (a type of fuel derived from bituminous coal) from Colombia. It also buys products such as insecticides, fungicides, plant growth regulators, coal, vinyl chloride polymers, and other plastic materials in primary forms.
In addition to the presidents of Brazil and Colombia, the vice president of Ecuador, Verónica Abad, and representatives from other Amazonian countries, such as foreign ministers, have confirmed their participation in the event.
At the 5th Summit of Presidents of the OTCA, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, all Amazonian countries, consolidated the path initiated with the Belém Declaration in 2023, renewing commitments to the Amazonian agenda, defining strategic actions for COP30 and strengthening regional cooperation as a basis for protecting the Amazon, ensuring the well-being of its peoples and projecting the region onto the global agenda.
Meetings
On Friday (22), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will have a day of intense commitments in Bogotá, Colombia. According to information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the program will be divided into two distinct stages. In the morning, Lula will participate in the Amazon Regional Meeting, a dialogue space that will follow the model of the “Amazon Dialogues” held at the Belém Summit in 2023.
Discussions are planned with representatives from indigenous communities, traditional populations, academic sectors, and civil society organizations. In a second phase, the agenda will focus on a restricted meeting between heads of state from the eight countries that comprise the Amazon region.
After the meeting, the leaders will have a working lunch and sign the Bogotá Declaration, considered the central document of the Colombian initiative. Ambassador João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, director of the South America Department at Itamaraty (Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs), emphasized that Lula's participation symbolizes the continued leading role of Brazil in the defense of the Amazon.
“The 2023 summit in Belém stemmed from an initiative by President Lula, who established a series of actions in a very wide range of areas. The Belém Declaration has more than 110 paragraphs, with actions in practically all areas,” stated the diplomat. The new declaration, which will have climate change as its central theme, aims to assess progress made since Belém and consolidate consensuses that will serve as a basis for COP30, scheduled for 2025 in Belém do Pará.
Tropical Forests Forever Fund: a billion-dollar fund
Patrick Luna, Head of the Biodiversity Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, commented on the importance of the fund. “What is quite important to highlight regarding the TFFF, in contrast to other existing financing mechanisms, is that the contribution to the fund will not be a donation, but an investment. Both companies and countries that contribute to the fund will be remunerated annually with a competitive market rate.”
Prior to the presidents' arrival, several technical and political meetings are taking place. These include the meeting of the Amazon Cooperation Council (CCA), the meeting of foreign ministers of the OTCA (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization), and the meeting of the Amazonian Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples (MAPI). These steps are considered fundamental for building consensus and strengthening the institutional framework of the OTCA.
Ambassador Galvão de Queiroz highlighted that the preparatory work seeks to consolidate practical initiatives. “We are holding this new meeting of foreign ministers next Thursday. Based on these decisions to implement the Belém Declaration, several working groups have been created in areas such as public security and combating transnational crimes, health, epidemiological surveillance, bioeconomy, participation of indigenous peoples, and the creation of the OTCA's own financial mechanism,” he explained.
The deliberations in Bogotá should serve as a political and diplomatic milestone for strengthening regional cooperation, paving the way for new joint initiatives in defense of the Amazon.
Preparatory meetings
The Summit of Presidents will be preceded by preparatory meetings. Key events include the Meeting of the Amazon Cooperation Council (CCA) and the Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OTCA, where joint resolutions will be aligned and the foundations of the Bogotá Declaration established, as well as the meeting of the Amazonian Mechanism of Indigenous Peoples (MAPI), fundamental for reaffirming commitments and defining the course of action towards COP30.
The meetings aim to consolidate strategic themes and resolutions, including the institutional strengthening of the OTCA, and will address financial, human resources, and governance aspects, with the goal of reinforcing the organization as the main instrument of regional cooperation.
“We are holding this new meeting of foreign ministers next Thursday. Based on these decisions to implement the Belém Declaration, several working groups were created in areas such as public security and combating transnational crime, health, epidemiological surveillance, bioeconomy, participation of indigenous peoples, and the creation of the OTCA's own financial mechanism,” the ambassador explained.
Bethlehem Dome
The 2023 Belém Summit challenged the Amazonian countries to strengthen the ACTO (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization) and implement a new strategic agenda for the region. Since then, the eight countries have been working to reinforce the institution in financial, human resources, capacity building, rules, and operational aspects. Four meetings of foreign ministers have been held since 2023, in addition to ministerial meetings on health and public security, and working groups have been created in areas such as bioeconomy, indigenous participation, security and combating transnational crimes, as well as the establishment of the ACTO's financial mechanism.
The organization also made progress in regulating positions, the functioning of special committees, creating a channel for dialogue with the Amazonian Parliament, and defining strategies for a sustainable economy in the Amazon.
Socio-environmental block
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an intergovernmental organization formed by eight Amazonian countries that signed the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), becoming the only socio-environmental bloc in Latin America. With a broad vision of the South-South Cooperation process, the ACTO works in different dimensions: political-diplomatic, strategic and technical, creating synergies between governments, multilateral organizations, cooperation agencies, organized civil society, social movements, the scientific community, productive sectors and society as a whole, within the scope of the implementation of the ACT.
History
In 1995, the eight countries decided to create the OTCA (Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization) to strengthen and implement the objectives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty. Within the context of these efforts and challenges, the amendment to the TCA was approved in 1998, and the Permanent Secretariat was established in Brasília on December 13, 2002, and definitively installed in March 2003.
The main roles and functions of the Permanent Secretariat of the OTCA are to facilitate the exchange, knowledge, cooperation, and joint projection among member countries to fulfill the mandates of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty.
