International Community Pledges $871 Million for Colombian Peace Process

(IDB announces results of July 7 Madrid donors' meeting)  (450)
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The international community pledged $871 million at a
July 7 meeting in Madrid, Spain, to help fund Colombia's plan to bring
peace to the country, revitalize the nation's economy, and fight
cocaine production, announced the Inter-American Development Bank
(IDB).

In a statement released that day, the IDB said the meeting was seen as
the first step in an initiative to link the international community to
the ongoing peace process in Colombia, launched by Colombian President
Andres Pastrana. The IDB said the peace process was "wedded to
attempts to forge a firm and lasting peace agreement" between the
Colombian government and rebel forces in the country.
 
"Participants agreed that a window of opportunity now exists to pursue
these [peace efforts]," said the IDB, which co-sponsored the meeting
with the host government of Spain.

Colombia has been seeking to gather $3,500 million from foreign donors
to add to its own contribution of $4,000 million to fund Bogota's plan
to bring peace and stability to the country.

The IDB said that at the Madrid meeting, initial financial support for
Colombia came from Spain with $100 million, the United States with
$250 million, Japan with $70 million, Norway with $20 million, and the
United Nations with $131 million. International organizations such as
the IDB, the World Bank and the Andean Development Corporation
contributed $300 million in loans, the IDB said.

The U.S. contribution will go to social and alternative crop
development in Colombia. That money comes from an aid package already
approved by the U.S. Congress.

Other donors, such as the European Union, indicated they would make
their pledges at a follow-up meeting to be held in Bogota in
September, the IDB said, while Japan said it intended to increase its
support once a technical analysis of some additional projects is
completed.

Participants at the first meeting of the "Support Group for the Peace
Process in Colombia," the IDB said, expressed their "strong commitment
to assist in the design and implementation of various initiatives and
to provide technical cooperation in different areas -- such as
alternative [crop] development, rural education, water and sanitation,
and other social programs." The multilateral financial institutions
expressed their continuing support for Colombia's social safety net
with a contribution of $900 million to help alleviate poverty in that
country over the next three years, the IDB 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)