BRASILIA: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday agreed that the two countries will cooperate in conserving the Amazon rainforest as a way to fight global warming.
Kishida and Lula, meeting in Brasilia, also agreed to work together to maintain and strengthen the international order based on the rule of law. Brazil is this year’s chair of the Group of 20 major economies.
Brazil gives priority to preserving the environment as the country chairs an annual UN climate conference next year.
The two leaders issued a joint statement confirming the launch of a green partnership initiative, a cooperation package that includes measures to conserve the Amazon rainforest and promote environmentally friendly agriculture.
Japan and Brazil will also launch a cooperation framework for biofuel technology, which emits relatively less carbon dioxide. The framework calls on the two countries to take the lead in biofuel technology development by linking bioethanol derived from sugar cane produced in Brazil with hybrid technology for Japanese cars.
Executives from more than 40 Japanese companies who accompanied Kishida on his trip to Brazil signed over 30 memorandums of understanding with local companies on the sidelines of the summit.
Japan and Brazil also signed a memorandum on human resource development and technical cooperation in the cyber field.
Kishida and Lula agreed to strengthen coordination on UN reform. They also shared concerns about wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Kishida became the first Japanese prime minister to visit Brazil since Shinzo Abe’s trip in 2016 to attend the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
JIJI Press