Colombia, a positive country

Prepared by:
Affairs Coordinator
Internal and External Communications
Ministry of Foreign Relations

ON THE FRONT PAGE

• CARNAVAL DEL DIABLO (CARNIVAL OF THE DEVIL), NATIONAL CULTURAL ASSET: the Carnaval del Diablo, held each year in Ríosucio, Caldas, is to be declared a National Cultural Heritage Asset. This announcement, made by the Minister of Culture, María Consuelo Araujo Castro, means that the Carnaval del Diablo will now be considered part of the cultural patrimony of the nation, in the category of intangible goods. The inhabitants of Ríosucio dressed in their typical costumes gave the Minister a small demonstration of what the country gains with this recognition.

• BUSY VACATION SEASON: hotel occupancy rates were on average 87% at the main tourism locations in the country during the vacation period from December 27th of last year until January 10, 2006. This information was revealed by the General Department of Tourism at the Ministry of Commerce, in a report based on data provided by the Hotel Association of Colombia (Cotelco) and tourism offices in various regions of the country. The report includes figures for hotel occupancy rates on the Caribbean coast, in the Coffee growing region, Boyacá, and San Agustín. The highest rate was recorded for hotels in Santa Marta, where the average occupancy rate was 96%.

SOCIAL INVESTMENT

• GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO RETIREES IN COLOMBIA: the Minister of Social Protection, Diego Palacios Betancourt, announced that four and a half trillion pesos were allocated in 2006 for paying pensions in an opportune manner. The Minister said that, despite the fact that the reserves at the Social Security Institute have run out, the government guarantees that it will not fail to pay retirement pensions for even a single day, and reiterated that every necessary effort will be made to come through for Social Security affiliates.

• BELGIUM OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO COLOMBIANS: through the ICETEX, the Belgium government offered 370 scholarships for Colombian professionals and technology experts who desire post-graduate studies, masters, internships, or short courses in areas such as ecology, biology, transportation administration, public health, radiology, and milk industry technology, among others. That country will provide grants for round trip passages, registration fees, health insurance, and a monthly stipend in Euros to cover the expenses of the scholarship winners. The duration of the programs vary from two to twelve months, and the candidates must be working in sectors such as superior education, public administration, research institutes, or social economy institutes, and must have knowledge of the English and French languages.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT

• SIGNIFICANT GROWTH IN EXPORTS IN 2005: according to the National Administrative Department of Statistics, Colombian exports registered growth of 27.5% for January to November 2005, over the same time period in 2004. Sales outside the country have gone from USD 15,103 million pesos to USD 19,251.9 million since November 30 last year. This result is basically due to the 36.4% increase in exports of traditional products, such as petroleum and petroleum byproducts, coal, and coffee, and due to the 20% increase in non-traditional products, especially plants, tobacco, and floriculture products.

• EMPLOYMENT SUBSIDY TO INCREASE IN 2006: A subsidy of 612 thousand pesos will be paid from now on, to those who lose their jobs, and that subsidy will support them in their social security health payments, and food and/or education coupons. The funds will be handed over by the national government through the Fund for the Promotion of Employment and the Protection of Unemployed Persons and through the Family Compensation Funds. According to the report from the Family Subsidy Superintendence, 87,502 unemployment subsidies were paid during 2005, meeting the annual goal by 146.6%. This year it is expected that a total of 59,500 subsidies will be distributed.

• GROWTH IN MARKET FOR FOOD PRODUCTS: an increase of 1.6% was recorded in sales of food during the 12 months of 2005 relative to 2004. A total of 5,884,000 tons of food products were sold through the main wholesale supply centers, which is 94,839 tons more than the figure for 2004. During December 2005 the greatest sales volumes were seen in vegetables, tuber crops, and fruit.

DEMOCRATIC SECURITY

• MORE HOUSING FOR FAMILIES DISPLACED FROM RURAL AREAS: the national government, through the Presidential Agency for Social Action and the Ministry of Agriculture, allocated resources in the amount of $18,523 million pesos for housing for 2,787 displaced families who are in the process of returning to and relocating in the rural sector. The Ministry of Agriculture contributed $11,523 million to that budget, and the Agency for Social Action contributed the remaining 7 billion. The allocation benefits projects for housing for the displaced population that have been presented by Mayor’s and Governor’s Offices, indigenous government councils, and community councils in response to the invitation made in the second semester of 2005. These resources are in addition to the $20 billion initially contributed by the Presidential Agency for Social Action.

STATE EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY

• MANUAL ERADICATION INTENSIFIES IN NATURAL PARKS: the government announced that as of January 20, 2006, the manual eradication of illicit crops will intensify in natural parks. It also pointed out the need to strengthen the eradication with programs such as those successfully carried out by the government with the participation of more than 10 thousand families. Those programs have practically eliminated coca plants in the Tayrona and Sanquianga Parks.

• AIRPORT CLOSURES IN ELDORADO TO BE REDUCED BY 50%: the Civil Aeronautic Authority will cut the number of closures in half caused by difficult weather conditions during the year at the ElDorado airport. According to that organization, historically at different times of the year on the Savannah of Bogotá fog causes the closure of one of the most important airports in Latin America for at least forty days a year, for daily periods of up to four hours. To reduce the number of closures due to weather, the Civil Aeronautic Authority has now implemented low visibility procedures known as LVP, which will permit increased operation of the air terminal.

(FIN/RPAV/CIE)
January 13, 2006