News

USIS Washington File

07 June 2000

International Meeting to Support Colombia Being Held July 7 in Spain

(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)