The President of the United States, Joe Biden, presented on Monday a budget of $5.8 trillion for the fiscal year beginning in October 2023. It envisages an international aid plan, of which 453 million dollars was allocated to Colombia.
The value stipulated in the budget represents an 8 per cent increase over the amount allocated in the previous year. In this way, Colombia would receive an additional $41 million in aid from the United States to the country to combat drug trafficking and provide aid in humanitarian assistance, economic development and health plans.
The resources are also designed to support bilateral programs in terms of migration of Venezuelan citizens to Colombia, rural economic development and biodiversity conservation in the country.
“The requested funding will also allow continued support for the implementation of the peace agreements, access to justice services, citizen participation and human rights in Colombia,” the document delivered by the White House reads.
Faced with the situation in Europe with Ukraine and Russia, Biden proposed allocating $6.9 billion to help the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and an additional $1 billion for assistance in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
It is important to clarify that the budget presented by the Biden administration will have to be approved by the United States Congress. Considering that 2022 is an election year, it is very likely that the proposal will be defined with the new composition of the legislature in 2023.
With regard to how the budget will be allocated to the United States in general. Agencia EFE reported that the plan “includes $795 billion for defense, 915 billion dollars for national programs and the rest for unavoidable expenses such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the net interest on the national debt.”
Ivan Duque's meeting with Joe Biden
On March 10, President Ivan Duque and his counterpart Joe Biden met in the United States. During the space, which lasted for an hour in the White House, the presidents addressed relevant issues related to safety, migration and health.
Biden confirmed that he designated Colombia as the main non-NATO ally, which means that the South American country will become a key partner of the 29 nations that make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, rather than a member of that alliance. “This is the recognition of the close relationship that exists between our countries and we are very fortunate to be gathered here talking about different issues,” said the US president.
It should be noted that this procedure is already underway, because prior to the meeting with Duque, Biden sent a notification to the US Congress with his intention to designate Colombia in this category. It is worth mentioning that so far only 17 other countries have this category, including two South Americans: Argentina and Brazil.
If the request goes through, being an extra ally of NATO, Colombia could access US military material and receive loans for research equipment and materials. It would also have privileges in the procurement of space technology and could participate in cooperative projects with the United States Department of Defense.
On health issues, Biden confirmed that the United States will donate more anti-covid-19 vaccines to Colombia. He indicated that a batch with two million biological products will be sent, but it is pending confirmation of the date of receipt and the laboratory that produced them.
On the environmental issue, the governments of both countries confirmed that Duque and Biden spoke about partnerships to achieve the energy transition with Ecopetrol.
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