Among the topics discussed at the bilateral meeting are the policy of protection of life, the human talent of the Military Forces, the strengthening of legitimacy, strategic planning, the relationship with NATO, smuggling, intelligence, cyber defense and the Total Peace.
For two days, delegations from Colombia and the United States met in Bogotá to hold the eighteenth meeting of the Bilateral Working Group (BGW), in which lines of bilateral cooperation effort were defined that will contribute to territorial stability and the generation of conditions for the Total Peace.
The delegations were headed by the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States, Dan Erikson, and by the vice Minister of Defense of Colombia, Alberto Lara, who thanked the bonds of partnership that unite the two nations, and that, since 1999, have led the BGW as an environment for high-level dialogue on security and defense issues.
Vice Minister Alberto Lara recognized the economic support that the United States government has provided to Colombia for some time, in favor of improving resources in the field of national security and defense.
"I would like to emphasize that, as a government, our priority is to conduct an effective policy of protection of life, the full exercise of the rule of law throughout the national territory and the necessary security conditions for the Total Peace," the deputy minister highlighted.
In addition, Lara highlighted the importance that the National Government gives to planning issues. "These processes, experiences and lessons are very important to us for the strengthening, particularly, of institutionality and governance."
For his part, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S, defined this dialogue a "successful union", and stated that "there is a lot of work to do during the coming year".
"We are very satisfied with this meeting, with the work, with the effort that is very well defined (...). We have discussed very important issues of the Agency for Security Cooperation, climate change, cyber defense and we have a very broad bilateral agenda, in addition to the opportunity to move forward in 2024," said Erikson.
Within the framework of the defined priorities and with the aim of carrying out a specialized cooperation, each line will be aimed at enhancing the necessary Resources to strengthen the results.
Regarding the strengthening of the human talent of the Military Forces, in the joint statement, Deputy Minister Lara highlighted that the efforts of the Military Forces will continue, particularly, "in the observation and promotion of Human Rights, the promotion of the gender approach, and of course, deepening the processes of integrity and transparency."
Regarding Colombia's status as a NATO global partner, the Deputy Minister of Defense reiterated the importance of "maintaining that relationship, deepening it and obtaining greater benefits in terms of international standards, among other things, integrity, transparency, gender, interoperability, etc."
"Counting on the cooperation of the United States in the fight against the world drug problem, is also very important to count on the cooperation of the United States for the protection of life and the full exercise of a study of the territories. We will continue to eradicate and, as I have stated to the undersecretary, the eradication to which we intend to advance is an eradication that must be, hopefully, 100 percent validated,” said the deputy minister.
In the same way, the issue of smuggling was discussed by the parties, where the Colombian government recognized that through this phenomenon the largest laundering of drug trafficking assets is generated, so the Deputy Minister of Defense recalled the order given by President Gustavo Petro to the Police and Military Forces, to face this phenomenon, the deputy minister concluded.
Source: Defense Sector Communications Office - Ministry of National Defense
