Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said heads of the Amazon countries will meet in Colombia’s city of Leticia on September 6 to discuss joint environmental policies, the Brazilian government said in a statement amid massive wildfires in the Amazon rainforest.
“We can accept any bilateral help … because in the future, we could help another country that faces a similar problem,” Bolsonaro said during a joint press conference with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, as quoted in the statement, released on Wednesday.
The two presidents met in the Brazilian presidential residence in Rio de Janeiro.
Bolsonaro accepted Pinera’s offer to send four jets to help Brazil extinguish the Amazon fires, according to the statement.
After their meeting, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry issued a statement, in which the two presidents emphasized the importance of settling environmental problems with respect to every country’s sovereignty.
In the same statement, Bolsonaro and Pinera noted the importance of seeking international financial support for fighting the wildfires. However, the two presidents recalled that every country had a right to use a “rational and sustainable” approach to using its natural resources with respect to the country’s obligations in protecting the environment and the needs of its citizens.
Chile’s president visited Brazil on his way from Europe where he attended the G7 summit.
Though leaders of the world’s seven largest economies have pledged financial aid to cope with the Amazon rainforest fires, Brasilia said it would not accept the help. The situation has been exacerbated by Bolsonaro’s spat with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, whom the Brazilian leader accused of having colonialist ambitions. Macron, in his turn, criticized Bolsonaro by failing to meet commitments to fight climate change.
The Amazon rainforest in Brazil and neighboring states has been facing a record number of fires for several weeks. Environmentalists have accused pro-business Bolsonaro of encouraging farmers, miners and loggers to set fires in an effort to unlock natural reserves.
