Drugs, security and migration: Colombia and the US deepen collaboration at a high-level meeting

The Colombian Foreign Minister, Alvaro Leyva Duran, and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, began the dialogue table on Monday.

Colombia and the US began a High-Level Dialogue (DAN) on Monday in Washington in which they will address issues of relevance to both countries such as climate action, just energy transition, the drug problem, security or affairs migratory.

At the inauguration of this dialogue, which will last for two days, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stressed that Colombia is “a vital strategic partner”and that the US “is proud to support the Colombian people on their path to lasting peace and prosperity.”

“When it comes to addressing the global challenges that affect the lives of Americans and Colombians, from the threat posed by climate change to the movement of people across the hemisphere, we do better when we work together“, he commented.

Blinken added that the US will continue to help Colombia “achieve its climate ambitions with technical assistance in wind or solar projects until the reinforcement of the protection of the Amazon.”

“lto corruption and impunity“

“We will expand the roads for farmers, textile producers and other small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas to reach world markets and then benefit from the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the US,” he said.

Referring to security, Blinken stated that in order to reduce violence, “fundamental problems such as corruption and impunity must be attacked.”

The dialogue -he said- will also provide the opportunity to deepen joint efforts to face the challenge of migration throughout the region.

For his part, Leyva announced that given the challenges facing the hemisphere in this area, the government of Gustavo Petro in Colombia “has proposed to hold a Latin American Conference on Migration in 2023 (jointly with Mexico), and a Conference that address the World Drug Problem”.

“Drug trafficking is no longer a Colombian issue, there is a drug-trafficking multinational that is hitting the continent,” said Duran, who stressed that Colombia and the United States. “They are allies and not from now, but from long ago.”

Duran traveled to Washington accompanied by an important delegation made up of the Minister of Education, Aurora Vergara; the Minister of Justice, Nestor Osuna; and the Vice Minister of Commerce, Felipe Quintero, among others.

The DAN was established in 2010 and since then it is considered the most important high-level political meeting between the two countries. The previous high-level meeting was held in 2021 in Bogota.

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