President Alain Berset Visits Colombia
Published: Friday, Aug 4th 2023, 09:40
Mise à jour le : Vendredi, 13 octobre 2023, 14:12
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Swiss President Alain Berset will travel to Colombia on Monday for an official visit. The main focus of the visit is a meeting with Colombian President Gustavo Petro on August 10th, which will focus on the peace process in Colombia. Petro has been negotiating with the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) since last November for a peace agreement. Switzerland is supporting these peace efforts. In June, the ELN and the Colombian government agreed to a six-month ceasefire. The civil war in Colombia between left-wing rebels, right-wing paramilitaries and the military began in 1964, resulting in the death of 220,000 people, the disappearance of 60,000 and the displacement of over seven million. In 2016, the government and the largest rebel group Farc (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) signed a peace agreement on Cuba, and a new party of former fighters was guaranteed five parliamentary seats. During his visit, President Berset will meet with those involved in the implementation of the peace agreement, and sign a bilateral agreement to store a digital backup of documents from the Colombian Truth Commission in Switzerland. This Truth Commission was established in 2016 as part of the peace process, and its final report was released in August 2022. In addition to peace promotion, Switzerland is also supporting Colombia in terms of humanitarian aid and economic cooperation. During his visit, President Berset will visit projects in the departments of Valle del Cauca and Antioquia that promote peace and humanitarian aid, and focus on exchanging with local civil society and authorities. The visit will end on Thursday evening.nnnn
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