Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, Johanna Rocha, stated that the agreement will facilitate the exchange of knowledge that facilitates the development of public policies for the energy transition and, also, “generates a climate” favorable to investment for project development. that requires that process.

British Ambassador to Colombia, George Hodgson explained that this document complements previous documents regarding sustainable growth. The idea, he said, was to “give life” to a very important pillar in the cooperation between the two countries, namely related to cooperation in caring for the environment and the fight against climate change.

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“This is an action plan for the next two years in terms of the energy transition, we seek to share the UK’s experience, for example, in the offshore wind energy sector, in the development of the hydrogen economy and the export of green hydrogen, he explained.

And the Colombian ambassador to England, Roy Barreras indicated that Colombia has clean energy sources and the resources to implement major energy transition projects, England has the know-how. The agreement, he explained, would seek technology transfer for the development of key sectors.

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One of them, added Barreras, is mobility. “Clean energy needs to be produced, but electric vehicles are also needed, namely the transition to electric mobility and charging plants for these electric vehicles. The UK has experience in this regard and of course this agreement will allow us to move forward together in developments in Colombia.”

Business conference where agreements are signed It is promoted by Procolombia and the Colombian and British embassies, and has an emphasis on projects that promote sustainable development.

Before signing, the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla announced that Colombia hopes to attract investments in this meeting that could reach up to 10 billion dollars.

Bonilla explained that the Colombian delegation landed in the UK with a series of initiatives to find funding sources, including for 5G roads, as well as the railway transport restoration project and the Dique canal.

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Barreras said that this is not only an opportunity for the country to find millionaire resources to develop infrastructure, clean energy, jobs and sustainable tourism initiatives; This also applies to the UK, which could find a “natural growth scenario” in Latin America.

“There is great interest from UK investment funds to reach Colombia,” he said.

Hodgson, finally, highlighted to the press while covering a business conference that the UK currently has a project financing mechanism called UK Export Finance, which has an allocation for Colombia of 5.5 billion pounds.

“The idea is to finance projects that can take advantage of the interest rates that the British government has, which are favorable interest rates (…) This applies to both private and public projects,” he concluded.
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ALBERTO MARIO SUÁREZ DURÁN