BCC news and upcoming events

2. BUENAS NOTICIAS DE COLOMBIA Y BOGOTÁ

GOOD NEWS ABOUT COLOMBIA

• Colombia and the United States signed an alliance to develop rural and environmental projects in territories with a high presence of illicit crops. This is the first initiative carried out jointly by the governments of President

Biden and President Petro within the framework of the Holistic Strategy against Drugs formulated by the White

House. The strategy addresses three strategic lines: comprehensively reduce the supply of narcotics, strengthen security and comprehensive rural development in the territories, and protect the environment. For more information, see the following link.

• On November 21st, from Caracas, Venezuela, the peace delegations of the National Government and the

National Liberation Army (ELN), in the presence of the guarantor countries and international observers, set up peace talks between both parties to reach a peace deal. For more information, see the following link.

• Colombia and Spain held the first economic-commercial subcommittee within the framework of the friendship and cooperation agreement between the two countries, in force since 1992. During the event, the trade, industry, and tourism Ministries of both countries addressed issues such as sustainable investment, challenges of the European Green Pact for agricultural and agro-industrial exports from Colombia, food sovereignty, insertion of MSMEs in global value chains, energy transition, and public purchases, among others. For more information, see the following link.

• During the ninth meeting of the Trade Committee of the Trade Agreement between Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and the European Union, they ratified their commitment to continue cooperating in consolidating the economic recovery after the pandemic. They also expressed their decision to continue promoting participation in multilateral initiatives within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework. On the other hand, in this same committee, the parties signed the decisions through which the European Union recognizes ten new geographical indications (GI) of the 3 Andean partners in the agreement. In the case of Colombia, the geographical indication of the bocadillo veleño was recognized. For more information, see the following link.

• As part of his official visit to France, President Gustavo Petro announced that the French government has pledged to support Colombia's agrarian reform and energy transition while supporting the revitalization of the

Amazon rainforest. For more information, see the following link.

• After four years, Peru restored the 0% tariff for products imported from Colombia, such as sugar, candies, and cookies. This occurred after Colombia reestablished free trade in rice between the two countries. This way, free trade is reinvigorated between the two markets with an excellent bilateral relationship within the Andean

Community of Nations (CAN). For more information, see the following link.