The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Colombia on the occasion of the XI High Level Dialogue.
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High-level representatives of Colombia and the United States held the XI High-Level Dialogue at the San Carlos Palace in Bogota on May 28-29, 2024. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, and the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources of the United States, Richard Verma, met in the presence of delegations from the governments of both countries and reaffirmed the 202-year ties of friendship and cooperation that unite them, announcing a new vision for bilateral relations with the "Vida Colombia Strategy."
Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to move forward with concrete actions to strengthen this strategic alliance in areas such as democracy, peacebuilding, and human rights; generation of economic and social opportunities; environment and climate change; energy transition, mining, and infrastructure, including the railways; information technology and communications; public diplomacy, citizen security, global health security, and the fight against the global drug problem; rural development; and effective safe, humane, and orderly migration management.
The high-level officials announced the launch of the "Vida Colombia Strategy," which outlines a new focus on relationships and is oriented towards hemispheric collaboration, facing common challenges and opportunities such as democratic stability, environmental protection, socio-ecological transition, implementation of peace accords, countering crime and narcotics, safe, orderly, and humane migration management, and the inclusion of Afro and Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQI+ persons, and historically marginalized communities, among others.
Delegations from both countries affirmed that the comprehensive dialogue in the eight working groups represents a diversity of joint actions and highlighted the collaboration with multiple actors from civil society and the private sector. Both countries remain focused on elevating the efforts of the U.S.-Colombia Plan for Racial and Ethnic Equality (CAPREE) to advance equity for marginalized racial and ethnic communities. They recognized the private sector's invaluable role to promote economic development, energy transition, and digital transformation. The delegations also welcomed contributions from civil society on addressing climate change in relation to environmental justice and racial justice, highlighting communities as key actors for change.
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