Spain to help Colombia taking care of legalized Venezuelan migrants

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González, signed on Friday, February 27th, together with her Colombian counterpart Claudia Blum, a 120-million Euros framework cooperation agreement between the two countries through 2024.

“The signing of the Colombian-Spanish cooperation strategy that is constituted in the Country Association Framework (MAP) 2021-2024 is an effort that represents the joint work between Colombian entities and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, benefiting the sectors of the population that need it most,” assured the Colombian minister in a statement to the press.

The cooperation strategy seeks to support the Colombian government in the processes of care for the Venezuelan migrant population and promote sustainable rural development with a “gender focus in the prioritized territories” said the Colombian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Minister Blum indicated that 70 million euros will be allocated for “non-reimbursable technical cooperation”, while the remaining 50 million euros correspond to ” financial credits for the years 2021-2024″.

For her part, the Spanish Minister, who is on a three-day diplomatic agenda in Colombia, congratulated the Colombian government for the decision to legalize one million Venezuelan migrants who are in its territory. She assured that it is a “noble gesture at a time when other countries close their doors” to migrants. On Saturday she will visit Cúcuta, a city on the border with Venezuela.

Spain, together with the European Union, promoted in 2020 the International Conference of Donors in solidarity with Venezuelan refugees and migrants in which 2,500 million euros were committed.

In addition, the Spanish minister reaffirmed her country’s commitment to the peace efforts that Colombia has made since 2016, when the peace process was signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

“With the peace accords the war ended, but a new process began that has to revolve around truth, justice, reparation and the commitment of non-repetition,” said Arancha González after visiting the system of transitional justice as a result of the peace agreement. “We know that this is not an easy process, we all know that this is a long-term process, that there will be steps forward and that there will probably be steps back, and it pains us all that people continue to be murdered,”she added.

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