Brazilian vice president, Hamilton Mourão, has urged the international community to join his country in its continued push for sustainability during an official visit to Expo 2020 Dubai, citing the vast investment opportunities.

During a lecture about sustainable development in the Amazon region, delivered at the Terra – the Sustainability Pavilion, Mourão said: “I call upon international institutions, investors and leaders from the private and public sectors to meet the challenge and join us.

“Investing in the Amazon is very important.

“The sustainable development of the Amazon is a critical element in our vision for the future of our country.

“Our vison is to bring together all levels of government, the private sector and other stakeholders to ensure this.”

He said that sustainability programmes are “full of opportunities for private and public sectors to strengthen and expand.

“We are encouraged to learn that there are many public and private initiatives that are making sustainability a very profitable business in the Amazon.”

Mourão also noted his country’s good ties with the United Arab Emirates and looked ahead to a positive future between the two nations.

He added: “Since 2018, when President Bolsonaro came here to the UAE, we became strategic partners.

“UAE is a good friend, and our partnership has all the possibilities to move forward.”

He added that Bolsonaro will be in the UAE on November 15th on the occasion of the Brazilian Republic Proclamation Day, accompanied by an entourage to further push investment support for sustainability efforts.

The Bolsonaro administration has, however, been criticised by international observers for a dramatic increase in logging during the past two years.

In the first four months of the year, Amazon deforestation was up 55 per cent from a year ago to 1,202 square kilometres , according to data from INPE.

There have been concerns that Covid-19 has kept many environmental enforcers out of the field in recent months.