The president of the European Investment Bank will visit Colombia and reiterate his support for peace



The president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Werner Hoyer, will begin a two-day visit to Colombia next Monday to reiterate his support for the consolidation of peace in the country, diplomatic sources informed Saturday.

The ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Colombia, Patricia Llombart, told reporters that Hoyer will be accompanied by the bank's vice president, Emma Navarro, as a sign of "the EU's commitment to Latin America and in particular to Colombia."

"This is the first visit of a president of the EIB to Colombia and is another example of the European commitment and support to the country in its new post-conflict dynamics and increased foreign investment thanks to peace," he said.

During his visit, the bank delegation will meet next Monday with President Iván Duque and Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, as well as with the Councilor for Stabilization and Consolidation, Emilio Archila.

At the meeting, the parties will sign an agreement confirming Colombia as the seat of the regional representation of the EIB for Latin America.

"With this visit also the President (Hoyer) is going to inaugurate the Latin American office of the European Investment Bank that is established, to our great satisfaction, here in Bogota," said Llombart.

The diplomat recalled that the bank has granted a loan of 400 million euros (about 448.8 million dollars) for infrastructure works related to the post-conflict and the environment.

Similarly, the entity made another loan for the same amount for the construction of the Bogota metro.

For Tuesday, Hoyer will sign a memorandum of understanding with executives of the Foreign Trade Bank of Colombia (Bancóldex) that will allow the European entity "to provide financing to boost economic activities in post-conflict zones".

He will also meet with several NGOs that have received support from the bank to attend to Venezuelan migration in the country.

According to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the number of Venezuelans who have left their country exceeds the barrier of 4 million, of which more than 1.3 millions are in Colombia.

The European Investment Bank started its operations in the region in 1993 and since then it has financed about 120 projects in 14 countries worth 8,400 million euros (some 9,424 million dollars).

(tagsToTranslate) president (t) Bank (t) European (t) Investments (t) Colombia



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