Venezuela: Union for the Amazon

CAF Executive President Enrique García and Rosalia Arteaga Serrano, Secretary General of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), signed today in Caracas an agreement to contribute to achieving common objectives, based on their efforts and actions in policy formulation; and execution and follow-up of viable projects, programs and initiatives in the region.

Enrique García said that the agreement was signed in the framework of the recent creation of the CAF Vice Presidency of Social and Environmental Development. The objective is to promote the progress of the region, and contribute to the sustainable and responsible exploitation of the natural capital of the countries, taking into account the importance of the Amazon for the environment of the planet.

"The CAF, in pursuing its mission, promotes various activities and programs whose areas of action coincide with those of the ACTO, such as biodiversity, disaster prevention, climate change, social and community development, culture, education, governance and physical integration; hence the agreement that we are signing today," García added.

ACTO Secretary General Rosalia Arteaga Serrano said that the organization she represents hoped to find in the CAF a key partner in the development of their activities. She recalled that the Andean countries - all CAF partners - are also Amazon countries.

ACTO was set up to respond to the social demands of the Amazon. Through its Permanent Secretariat, the organization makes efforts and takes actions in favor of the preservation of the environment, and the conservation and rational use of the natural resources of these territories; and promotes sustainable development for the benefit of their populations and member states (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela).

The agreement will mean close coordination and cooperation in matters of common interest, to be identified and defined by mutual agreement, according to specific initiatives.

See the Evolution of Amazon Cooperation document.