Exclusive-U.S. eyes joining Amazon Fund during Biden-Lula visit

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation at the Cachoeira Seca indigenous reserve, in Uruara, Para State, Brazil January 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

RIO DE JANEIRO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering its first contribution to a multilateral fund aimed at fighting Amazon deforestation, with a possible announcement during President Joe Biden's meeting with Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House on Friday, two U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

A U.S. contribution to the Brazilian-administered Amazon Fund would underline warmer ties between the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, after frostier relations between Biden and former far right President Jair Bolsonaro.