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Washington, DC - Today President Barack Obama hosted Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the White House for a meeting in the Oval Office and a commemoration of 15 years of bilateral cooperation through Plan Colombia. 

The visit celebrated Colombia’s profound political, economic, and security gains since the inception of Plan Colombia in 2000 and underscored our continuing partnership as the Government pursues peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).  Because of the success of Plan Colombia, the relationship between our two countries has expanded laying the foundation for collaboration on new areas of mutual interest, including fighting the spread of Zika virus.

Supporting Peace and Prosperity in Colombia

U.S. assistance through Plan Colombia was instrumental in paving the way for the current peace talks by strengthening Colombia’s capacity to defend its democratic institutions, safeguard its citizens, and improve the lives of the Colombian people.  Violence in Colombia is at its lowest level since 1973, including a 50-percent drop in homicides and a 90-percent decline in kidnappings since 2002.  Thanks in part to increased security, Colombia’s economy has grown an average of 4.3 percent since 2007 and unemployment and poverty are at historic lows.  U.S. support through Plan Colombia has helped Colombia expand and professionalize its armed forces and police, strengthen investigations of organized crime and human rights violations, implement a landmark Victims and Land Restitution Law, provide opportunities to Afro-descendant and indigenous communities, and establish a program to protect journalists, labor leaders, human rights defenders, and other vulnerable individuals.  

Plan Colombia’s success has stemmed from three principal factors.  First, the program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Congress since its inception.  Second, U.S. support was sustained throughout the life of the initiative, through three Administrations from both political parties.  Third, Colombians took the lead, investing their own resources and demonstrating the political will to make tough decisions.  The U.S. contribution of nearly $10 billion since 2000 represents just 5 percent of Colombia’s total expenditure on Plan Colombia.  

When it comes to our broader security cooperation, President Santos’s visit to the White House highlighted the following areas:  

Expanding Investigations and Research Collaboration to fight the Zika Virus and Advance the Global Health Security Agenda

Building on previous collaboration on health and infectious diseases, the United States and Colombia also agreed to accelerate investigations into the range of health impacts of the Zika virus and joint research into the Zika virus and the development of diagnostics, vaccines, and vector control tools to control the virus and mitigate its potential impacts.  The United States and Colombia have agreed to:

In addition, the United States and Colombia have agreed to expand our broad-based scientific collaboration in the following areas.

To enhance regional and multilateral cooperation and collaboration throughout the Americas, we invite countries in the Western Hemisphere to join our partnership to defeat Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases by strengthening engagement with the World Health Organization and Pan American Health Organization; sharing epidemiologic data and specimen samples, as appropriate; and enhancing commitments and collaboration through the GHSA.