Governments of Peru and Colombia inked eleven agreements after Tuesday’s talks between presidents of both nations and their respective ministerial teams, who flew to the Amazon city of Iquitos in Peru to attend the long-awaited First Binational Cabinet Meeting.
Here is the summary of the documents signed at the joint meeting, according to Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
1. The Interagency Agreement between Peru’s Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations and Colombia’s Administrative Department for Social Prosperity targets the exchange of best practices regarding protection of the elderly, as well as care for children and adolescents working in mining and those under risk and vulnerability.
2. The Cooperative Framework Agreement between Colombia’s Science, Technology and Innovation Administrative Department (COLCIENCIAS) and Peru’s National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) covers bilateral cooperation in fields of agriculture, biodiversity, biotechnology and social appropriation of knowledge.
3. The Bilateral Commitment between Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications of and Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies seeks to reduce theft of mobile devices and the illegal market in both countries by taking action to ensure progress is made.
4. The Interagency Cooperation Agreement between the Supervisory Body for Forestry Resources and Wildlife (OSINFOR) and Colombia’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development ensures the conservation, prevention and monitoring of forest resources and wildlife, through the exchange of experiences in both countries.
5. Likewise, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been inked between Colombia's National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD), Peru’s National Center for Estimation, Prevention and Disaster Risk Reduction (CENEPRED) and the National Institute of Civil Defense (INDECI).
Its purpose is to strengthen Disaster Risk Management Systems in both countries through the exchange of knowledge and experience, particularly in issues related to forecast, prevention, risk reduction, preparedness, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
6. Peru’s Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation and Colombia's Ministry of Housing, City and Territory, in turn, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding concerning technical cooperation in the field of water and sanitation.
7. Another MoU was signed between Peru’s Ministry of Energy and Mines and its Colombian equivalent to provide the basis for cooperation in the filed of mining and sustainable development of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
8. On the other hand, Peru’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) and Colombia’s Civil Service Administrative Department (DAFP) also engaged through a MoU aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation relations through good practices in the field of modernization of the State, administrative simplification, citizen services and good governance.
9. Peru’s Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion and its Colombian equivalent have signed the Roadmap for implementing the Cooperation Agreement that will help the two neighboring nations exchange the best practices in employment.
10. The Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD) and Colombia’s Administrative Department of Sport, Recreation, Physical Activity and the Use of Free Time (COLDEPORTES) signed a calendar of sports cooperation seeking to establish a interagency schedule of activities and, therefore, strengthen ties of cooperation between the two sectors.
11. Finally, Peruvian and Colombian Ministries of Education signed a Letter of Intent expressing their mutual commitment to strengthening bonds of cooperation in the field of higher education, based on the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Higher Education Certificates, Diplomas and Degrees, signed on 23 April 1994.
Touted as a "momentous and historic" step toward binational integration, the Tuesday gathering opened earlier in the day in the northern Peruvian city of Iquitos, in the presence of Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and their ministers.
The key event held at Peru's naval base facilities located in the rain-forest region of Loreto, convened authorities of the two countries to discuss about governance, social and development affairs, trade opportunities, security and defense, and border issues.
This two-nation meeting confirms the excellent relations between the two neighboring countries. Its purpose was to further enlarge the bilateral agenda and boost sectoral cooperation, especially in the common border area.
(END) NDP/EGZ/ASH/RMB
Published: 10/1/2014