by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Bogota : Colombia has signed a $300 million agreement with the UN aimed at reducing the production of cocaine, the media reported.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), farmers who switch from growing coca, the raw material used to make cocaine, to safer crops will be compensated, reports the BBC.
Speaking in Vienna, the head of the UNODC, Yury Fedotov, said on Friday: “This historic agreement is a unique opportunity to turn the tide against Colombia’s coca cultivation and help farmers embrace alternative development.
“The pursuit of peace requires tangible solutions to the crimes that fuel and feed conflict.”
Currently, farmers earn $300 a month for every hectare of coca they grow.
This initiative will provide compensation to farmers if they revert to producing safer crops, such as coffee and cacao, the UNODC announced.
Colombia is ranked as one of the main drug-growing nations in the world by the UNODC.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Investing, Large Enterprise, World
Lima : Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry presented the “Pacific Alliance Business and Investment Guide 2017/2018” which seeks to promote regional integration, as well as attract more and better investments into Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
Crafted by EY Peru, the guide —available in Spanish and English— contains attractive and relevant information on Pacific Alliance’s initiatives regarding trade and integration, as well as services and capital.
Likewise, the publication highlights the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA), which reached a total negotiated volume of US$152.208 billion at the end of 2016.
It also features a summary of Pacific Alliance member countries, as well as their production and export figures.
Additionally, it includes essential information on the rules governing investment, plus legal, tax and regulatory requirements to enter any of the four markets.
In this sense, the report guides investors —from around the world— in making decisions for business and investment development in each country, part of the regional mechanism.
Pacific Alliance Created in 2011, the Pacific Alliance has consolidated as the world’s eighth-largest economy, with a contribution of US$1.770 billion to accumulated gross domestic product, which represents over 38% of Latin America and the Caribbean’s GDP.
For 2017, an average growth rate of 2.3% is projected among its member countries, higher than the estimated growth for Latin America (1.1%).
The bloc attracts 41% of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) allocated to the region, which amounted to US$42 billion in 2016.
—NNN-ANDINA
