Reinforcing Trust Through Alternative Development Strategies
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, also known as the Republic of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a sovereign country in South America. It is highly populated, as it has a population of over 20 million. It borders the Caribbean Sea to the North, Venezuela to the East, Brazil to the South, Ecuador and Peru to both the North and South. The country consists of elevenuyuenses, which are minor islands off the coast of Colombia.
The rural areas of the country have seen a rapid increase in tourism in recent years and this fact has led to a rapid growth in infrastructure throughout the country. The government of Colombia has created numerous institutions that aim to enhance the state presence in rural areas and provide all the basic amenities required in a modern society. These include institutions for higher education and a system of medical services. However, their major project, according to their own analysis, has been to create the perfect farming plan in order to sustain and grow the smallholders of the nation.
This agricultural plan was developed through the years by the government of Colombia with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), who has become one of Colombia’s key partners in this endeavor. As part of this plan, the Colombian government has set aside funds for projects aimed at helping the indigenous groups in the countryside of Colombia continue their agricultural production, while at the same time, allowing for greater investment opportunities within the agricultural sector. As such, many rural areas of Colombia have experienced substantial increases in income levels as a result of increased agricultural production, jobs, and an overall better quality of life.
Despite the Colombia strategy, there is still a need for the United States to provide greater amounts of s. assistance to Colombia. The increase in numbers of displaced people in the country has meant that more aid is needed. For this, the United States must continue to provide training to local security forces in areas outside of the Guarija peninsula, in order to ensure that the insecurity in the area is not translated into insecurity for the local civilian population. Likewise, programs such as the Millennium Challenge Fund or MCCF could also be used to support the Colombian Government’s efforts to increase its capacity in the security sector. This effort would also allow the United States to increase its footprint on the ground in Colombia.
Another important step the United States can take towards assisting the government of Colombia is to support the consolidation of foreign-funded projects. As was mentioned previously, Colombia’s security situation has deteriorated rapidly. For this reason, a large number of projects have been cancelled, most of which were financed by foreign organizations and sources. In order to ensure that these cancellation decision are not negatively impacted on the overall development process, the United States should invest in alternative development plans that are focused on providing economic opportunities to ordinary citizens, as well as the right infrastructure and development opportunities to businesses. This would help reverse some of the damage that had been done to projects that were financed by international actors.
Overall, there are a number of challenges Colombia must overcome to achieve economic growth. However, if the country’s government can successfully implement a series of measures, it stands to see positive results. To this end, the United States must be committed to assisting Colombia build a resilient and stable democracy, based on economic prosperity, peace and development for all. While it remains to be seen what effect the economic crisis will have on the stability of the government, it is clear that the impact it has already had on the lives of ordinary citizens is negative. However, the benefits of a stable and secure Colombia are likely to far outweigh any negatives that may result.