Country Profile
From The Report: Colombia 2017
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While 2016 marked an important turning point for Colombia, the pace at which the economy accelerates and living standards improve over the coming years will be dictated to a large extent by the government’s success in implementing the peace agreement, swiftly establishing the rule of law across the entire territory and executing its ambitious infrastructure programme. When he leaves office in August 2018, President Juan Manuel Santos is likely to leave to his successor a positive legacy, having secured the FARC peace agreement and significantly reduced poverty on his watch. This chapter contains interviews with President Juan Manuel Santos; Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina; and María Ángela Holguín, Minister of Foreign Affairs; as well as a viewpoint with Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Diversity in the details: The country’s eclectic heritage blends tradition and modernity
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Blessed with a rich cultural and natural heritage, Colombia is also strategically located at the crossroads of South and Central America, and is the only South American country with both Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Moreover, it is something of a contemporary paradox in that it has both a long tradition of democratic institutions and an abiding history of internal political conflict. However, with the signature of a landmark peace agreement between the national authorities and the armed insurgency…

Interview

Peace dividend: President Juan Manuel Santos, on the importance of moving forward in the wake of the peace treaty
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Interview:President Juan Manuel Santos What are the country’s economic priorities following the peace agreement? PRESIDENT JUAN MANUEL SANTOS: The peace agreement with FARC creates great growth opportunities for the economy. We will be able to better develop rural areas and can also expand the depth of our agricultural capacity. The treaty also advances the enormous tourist potential that Colombia possesses throughout its entire territory, and companies will be able to explore markets and…

Interview

Regional player: María Ángela Holguín, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the importance of a global presence
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Interview:María Ángela Holguín How will the peace agreement with FARC affect the country’s international presence? MARIA ANGELA HOLGUÍN: Colombia has always been an active member of the international community, and it will remain so in the future. The newly established peace with FARC will hopefully bring global investment opportunities to Colombia. Regions that were never developed, especially in the countryside, now have the opportunity to attract both national and foreign interest.…

Overview

Giving peace a chance: The benefits of political stability are generating new optimism
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Politically, economically and socially, Colombia may be at the most important turning point in its modern history. After 52 years of fighting, the landmark peace deal between the government and the armed militant group FARC, the country’s largest and well known guerrilla group, was concluded in late 2016. This coincided with the apparent bottoming out of the country’s economic deceleration. GDP growth had been hit hard by falling global oil prices, declining to 2% in 2016, but it is…

Interview

Coordinated efforts: Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina, on strategies for advancing bilateral trade and investment
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Interview:Mauricio Macri What sectors of the Colombian economy are of greatest interest to your government? MAURICIO MACRI: I would like to highlight that we have great hope for the peace process in Colombia, and that we will continue to support this process through international observers, agricultural development and humanitarian involvement in the coming years. We are working within the healthy bilateral relationship we already have to reach a wider commercial agreement. Due to the size…

Viewpoint

A definitive leap: Luis Alberto Moreno, President, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), on Colombian prosperity in the years to come
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Viewpoint:Luis Alberto Moreno After coming dangerously close to becoming a failed state, over the past two decades Colombia has regained control over its territory by clamping down on violent drug cartels and guerrillas, and setting the stage for a protracted boom that transformed it into South America’s second largest economy. In less than a generation, Colombia went from being a country where every other person lived in poverty to one where more than half of the population has made it…