07 June 2000
(U.S., Latam nations among those scheduled to attend) (550) By Eric Green Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- An international meeting to support peace in Colombia will be held July 7 in Madrid, Spain, say officials from the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The meeting is being sponsored by the IDB, the United Nations, and the host government of Spain. According to an IDB official, the conference is officially titled "The Support Group for the Peace Process in Colombia." The current list of attendees includes officials from the United States, Canada, Japan, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, the European Union, the Andean Development Corporation, the International Monetary Fund, and representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world. A U.S. official said the purpose of the meeting is to "solicit pledges of support" from the international community for Colombian President Andres Pastrana's $7,500 million "Plan Colombia," which would help the government combat guerrilla and paramilitary insurgencies fueled by illicit drug profits. The plan would also help restore civil order, promote democratic institutions, encourage alternative crop development, advance Colombia's economy, and protect human rights. The Clinton Administration has submitted to the U.S. Congress a $1,600 million aid package in support of Plan Colombia. Colombia would provide about $4,000 million of the total, with the rest coming from the international community; hence the need for the Madrid meeting. The IDB official said the meeting will allow the Colombian government to ask for international support for its strategy of holding peace talks with anti-government forces in that country, and to seek resources to accelerate the process. The official said "we don't believe this one meeting will solve" Colombia's problems, but that it will serve as a useful start in support of Plan Colombia. The IDB, the official said, has a particular interest in financing a program to support Colombia's thousands of displaced people and in backing alternative crop development, so that farmers can make a living growing products other than the coca plant, used in making cocaine. During her trip to Colombia last January, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright urged "other donors to come forward" with assistance to Colombia. She pointed out that the United States has also stepped up its support for counter-narcotics and alternative crop development programs for Colombia and its neighbors in the Andean Ridge. Pastrana said during Albright's visit that counter-drug efforts are much more than a regional or bilateral issue and invited the nations of Europe, Asia and Africa to work with his country more closely. "To truly succeed, we need the active participation of the entire global community. And the fact that the United States agrees with us here bodes well for the prospect to further internationalize our common cause," Pastrana said. The IDB official said an international meeting to support NGO work in that country was being held June 6-7 in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by Georgetown University, the United Nations, and the government of Colombia. The Clinton Administration sent representatives to that meeting, a U.S. official said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)