Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2024
87. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to set out the issues he raised with Columbian officials on his recent visit to Columbia; the role Ireland will play as guarantor of the ongoing peace dialogue there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3129/24]
View answerDuring my visit to Colombia on 10-11 January I met with Colombia’s two Vice Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Francisco Coy and Elizabeth Taylor Jay. We discussed Ireland's strong support for the Colombian peace process, particularly the 2016 Agreement and the Government’s Total Peace policy. This included Ireland's role as guarantor in the dialogues with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) and the sharing of lessons from both peace processes. Ireland’s support for the implementation of peace in Colombia will be over €5 million this year.
We also discussed the strengthening of bilateral relations; trade and investment, including business and human rights and the need for diversification in our goods trade; bilateral cooperation in the areas of education and agricultural research; climate; migration; cooperation in multilateral fora; EU-CELAC relations; and the current situations in Ukraine and Gaza.
I also met Colombia’s Minister for Defence, Ivan Velasquez. Our discussion also focused on Ireland’s support to peacebuilding in Colombia and the EMC dialogue process. We also discussed ongoing police cooperation, including how this could be further developed, approaches to tackling organised crime and drug use, the use of models of citizen engagement, and police reform.
In addition, I met with senior officials from the Colombian High Commission for Peace for an exchange on peacebuilding in Colombia.
These meetings were important to deepening understanding of Ireland's guarantor role in the ongoing peace dialogues with the EMC, together with Norway, Switzerland and Venezuela. Positive progress has been made in the rounds of negotiations that have taken place thus far. The next round of dialogues is scheduled to take place from 3-10 March.
The guarantor role involves maintaining a continuous presence at the talks, promoting and protecting the dialogue process, supporting the parties to advance the process, and providing technical support and assistance. Ireland’s engagement in this process is based on a number of key principles, including active support for the promotion of human rights and respect for International Humanitarian Law and other normative frameworks, and complements Ireland's continued support for the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement.
