This content was published on 16 November 2021 – 16:52
Bogotá, Nov 16 (EFE) .- The World Bank (WB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced this Tuesday in Bogotá credits for more than 800 million dollars to support the social and economic inclusion of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia .
“Today the IDB and the World Bank go hand in hand not as competitors but as entities that complement their financial and technical cooperation efforts. There are 800 million dollars of long-term financing at a good rate for the development of a comprehensive migration public policy. “, said the Colombian president, Iván Duque, during a ceremony at the Casa de Nariño.
In this sense, the vice president of the World Bank, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, said that “the project approved by the Board of the World Bank for 526 million dollars combines loan resources (500 million) with non-reimbursable resources for an additional 26 million dollars donated by the international community “.
For its part, the IDB will lend Colombia 300 million dollars, to which will be added 17.6 million non-reimbursable dollars from the Global Financing Mechanism.
“This is a meeting that shows the commitment of two development banks and donor countries working in coordination to support Colombia’s efforts to integrate migrants and their host communities,” said the IDB Vice President for Countries, Richard Martinez.
WELCOME MECHANISMS
The objective of this initiative is to contribute to the effective socio-economic integration of Venezuelan migrants through the expansion of the regularization and information management of this population, the improvement of access to social services and protection against human trafficking and promoting the recognition of labor competencies.
The program is aimed at the 1.74 million Venezuelan migrants in Colombia, especially the 983,000 who are estimated to need to regularize their immigration status.
Colombia has received more than 1.8 million Venezuelans who left their country in recent years to escape the political, economic and social crisis that exists there.
Last year, the Colombian Government presented the Temporary Protection Statute that will allow this population to regularize their situation in the country for a period of ten years.
The regularization will allow them to access social services, protection and certification of labor competencies, which, according to an evaluation study conducted by the IDB, will help improve their income and access to formal jobs.
UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS
“By now we are all aware that Latin America and the Caribbean are going through one of the greatest migratory challenges in their history; we are no longer a region of emigration as we were years ago, but we are facing a scenario of much more complex movements for which no one was prepared, “Martinez said.
The IDB official added that, “despite the difficulties, the response of our countries, led by Colombia, is being exemplary.”
In this regard, the Vice President of the World Bank added that “Colombia has taken the necessary measures to transform the challenges of migration into development opportunities for the country and for the communities” and has provided those who arrive not only with emergency humanitarian assistance but also access to vaccines against covid-19.
Given the seriousness of the situation, President Iván Duque asked not to be indifferent to the more than six million Venezuelans who have left their country “with cold in the bones, hungry, without access to a good health system” and with the only dream of “being able to be welcomed in a place to establish a life project”.
“What Colombia has done, welcoming 1.8 million migrants in our territory with a Temporary Protection Statute is the most important gesture of peace and protection of human rights that a country can have in our region,” said Duque .
The United States Ambassador to Colombia, Philip Goldberg, also took part in the event, who pointed out that “Colombia is a world leader in the management of migratory flows and an example in the dignified treatment of migrants.” EFE
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