COLOMBIA, A POSITIVE COUNTRY

Prepared by:
Coordination of Internal and External
Communication Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

CLOSE UP

· COLOMBIA, JUST A CLICK AWAY: the Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi is offering a new service on its website http://www.igac.gov.co/. It is the School Maps link in which the official map of Colombia has been published, with all its borders, including the sea lines; theme maps, political and physical distribution, rivers, natural regions and provinces. When surfing the site, you can zoom in on the map’s images and see, in detail, the roads, province capitals and main towns, and you will also find maps of tourist attractions and places where you can do ecotourism in the country.
· CHASING THE HUMPBACK WHALES: ten Colombian explorers received the national tricolor flag on behalf of President Alvaro Uribe, for carrying it in Chile, where they will begin monitoring the humpback whales in the Pacific Ocean. The group consists of biologists, journalists and anthropologists who will document the experience to share it on environmental channels on international television. The Natibo expedition will use a boat manufactured in Colombia on its journey of over 8500 kilometers from the regions where they feed in the Antarctic Peninsula to the Colombian Pacific, where they reproduce.

SOCIAL EQUALITY

· THE PEACE OF COLOMBIAN FLOWERS: COLCINTUR’S Colombian Flowers with a Peaceful Aroma campaign exhibited heliconias and zingiberaceas for the 9th time in Spain at the Fair Institute of Madrid, and the Dendrobium from the Colombian orchid family for the first time. Approximately 70,000 people were expected to visit the International Furniture Fair 2004, in which flowers and other Colombian products were promoted.

· INVESTMENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT: Last April 3, the Government made agreements to purchase the reduction of pollution for US $3.3 million and signed 13 agreements with different companies in the country to increase efficiency to cut down on pollution. Among the sectors involved are the transportation sector, the mining sector and the construction chain in Antioquia; the coal ports in Santa Marta and Ciénaga, and include social players such as the hotel sector, fishermen, the Corporación Autónoma Regional del Magdalena, the Administrative Office of the Environment, the Environmental Veeduría and local NGOs.

· INVESTMENT IN HEALTH: the National Government has invested $5.018 billion Colombian pesos to recover 32 health centers in different Colombian provinces, $2.486 of which were destined to the Pacific Plan, whose purpose is to revive the entire health network of the Seaboard, from the border with Panama to the border with Ecuador, resources which will be invested in the improvement of 16 health centers in Chocó. As for hospital restructuring, $3.40 billion were given to the San Francisco de Asis Hospital and $50 million to finance a major trauma program, as well as $500 million Colombian pesos for an emergency network program.

· LEISURE LEARNING: recreation, culture and the promotion of Children’s Rights is the name of the plan that provides recreation and culture, and also seeks to strengthen the promotion of children’s rights in Colombia. One million children from all the regions of the country will participate in the Plan that consists of 6 special projects, and it will be carried out by 22 state entities with the support of Town Halls, social promoters, civil society organizations, and compensation bureaus. For more information, visit: www.corporaciondiadelnino.org.
· A FIRM PURPOSE: the Government’s purpose for 2004 is to reforest 35 thousand new hectares on all national territory. This task will require an investment of $82 billion Colombian pesos, resources from loans by the InterAmerican Development Bank and territorial organizations. During the year 2003, reforestation efforts yielded positive results; the program intended to reforest 14,600 hectares, and by the end of the year, 23,254 had been successfully reforested.

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND GENERATING JOBS

· CHINA COOPERATION: Representatives from the Colombian and Chinese Governments signed four memorandums of agreement in farming, for diplomatic cooperation and education as part of the activities of the Vice Prime Minister Hui Liangyu’s official visit to Colombia, which led to the formalization of a US $3.6 million donation to finance cooperation projects. In agriculture, one of the four instruments signed includes cooperation in matters associated with the production and commercialization of bamboo, supporting the strengthening of watering districts, phytosanitary affairs and animal and vegetable health, with views to export fresh fruit and meat, among other products, to China.

· HEALTHY FINANCES: a remarkable improvement in the State’s general and financial balance was presented by the Nation’s General Accounting with its figures to December 31, 2003. When analyzing the State as a company where assets are crossed with liabilities, Colombia went from a $29.1 billion loss to $15.7 billion, that is, a 46% improvement. The improvement was originated by the fact that the income from the public sector consolidated into national income increasing 10.6% on account of taxes, the sale of products and services, and transfers; while the State’s expenses were reduced by 6%.

· ACCUMULATING RESERVES: The Banco de la República will purchase US $250 million dollars by means of an auction system in order to accumulate international reserves. The purchase, which will be made this month, will be similar to that of the US $200 million made in April. During its last session, the Board of Directors of the Banco de la República decided to purchase US $700 million between April and June in order to stop the constant revaluation of the Colombian peso in relation to the US Dollar. During the first 20 days of April alone, the Representative Market Rate has gained 63 pesos and 85 cents.

DEMOCRATIC SECURITY

· MORE DEMOBILIZED INSURGENTS: during the current Administration, 4004 members of illegal armed groups have been demobilized. Statistics show that the highest number belonged to the Farc with 2253 demobilized members, followed by the AUC with 964, the ELN with 649, and the dissident groups with 138. Among the group of deserters, there are 803 minors and 591 women. For the Government, individual demobilizations have contributed to the decrease in kidnapping, homicides and attacks on the civil population over the last 20 months.

· COORDINATED REINSERTION: An Inter-sector Commission for the Reincorporation to Civil Life of the armed insurgent individuals and groups, which will be in charge of the guidance and coordination of reincorporation programs and policies, was created by means of Decree 1262 from the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. This new Commission will promote structural strategies and measures to support the Reincorporation policy. In addition, it will set up programs to motivate the participation of the civil population and enable the monitoring and evaluation of the work carried out by the entities and sectors participating in the Civil Reincorporation program.

STATE EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY

· EXPORT QUALITY: The Compartel program was selected by the International Telecommunications Union – UIT for its initials in Spanish – as one of the successful experiences in social telephony in the world. This acknowledgment is shared by 14 other countries, which have developed strategies similar to the initiative of the Ministry of Communications, which is aimed at providing equal access to telecommunications for Colombians in rural locations that do not have these tools, or that have insufficient tools, such as in low income urban regions.