Japanese, Brazilian Leaders Agree To Protect Amazon Rainforest

Japanese and Brazilian leaders agreed to cooperate to protect the Amazon rainforest while strengthening efforts to combat climate change, local media said on Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who arrived on his first visit to Brasilia on Friday, met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Tokyo-based Kyodo News Agency reported.

The two leaders also signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement on decarbonization and other environmental issues.

Addressing a joint news conference, Kishida said his country will help realize carbon neutrality in the world.

"Japan is ready to work with Brazil, this year's chair of the Group of 20 major economies (G20), to address global issues," the agency "ed him as saying.

Brazil next year is set to host COP30, the UN climate change conference.

The Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, faced substantial deforestation every year during the term of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, which ended in 2022.

Last year, Brazil's government said illegal logging and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest fell 22.3% between August 2022 and July 2023.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid -