The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Colombia signs an agreement with the Governments of Magdalena and Santa Marta
Through a virtual ceremony, last 6th of August, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Colombia, Jeroen Roodenburg, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Governor of the Magdalena Department, Carlos Caicedo, and the Mayor of the city of Santa Marta, Virna Johnson, with the purpose of joining efforts, wills and cooperative actions that allow strengthening the programs and projects prioritized in the Development Plans 'Magdalena Renace' and 'Santa Marta Corazón del Cambio'.
This agreement is the result of previous conversations between the Government of Magdalena with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and a subsequent invitation that was extended to the Mayor of Santa Marta. It will focus on the four revolutions of the "Magdalena Renace" Development Plan, especially in the areas of (circular) agriculture, sustainable tourism, drinking water and multipurpose cadastre.
“This memorandum of understanding that we have just signed is a historic step in the construction of bridges, cooperative relations, brotherhood and friendship between the department of Magdalena and the District of Santa Marta with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The valuable process of dialogue for the construction of this agreement has taken place amidst the restrictions and challenges that the pandemic forces us to face, including the defense of life, water and the ecosystems that shelter us”, said Governor Caicedo.
The Governor assured that the areas of exchange and cooperation that were agreed will focus on the economic and productive reactivation of Magdalena, emphasizing the experience of the Netherlands in circular agriculture and support for value chains in cocoa, coffee, banana, mango, vegetables and dairy; the promotion of entrepreneurship programs, support for business training in agriculture and sustainable tourism, business roundtables and trade relations and exchange with the Netherlands, Aruba and Curaçao; the fight against poverty and for a healthy environment through the recovery of ecosystems and the governance of water to face climate change and the opening up and dynamization of processes that lead to the use of clean and renewable energy.
In addition, thanks to this agreement, the region will benefit from the experience of the Dutch cadastre, recognized for its great technological advances, to achieve the democratization of the land and the inclusion of peasants, indigenous people and Afro-Americans in Magdalena.
“One of the main challenges of the bet of this Government of Change is the reorganization of the territory, promoting a process of formalization, legalization and restitution of land tenure that allows to leave behind the 19th century Magdalena and undertake one of the main challenges for peace; the multipurpose cadastre essential for the achievement of inclusion, equity, progress in productivity and the guarantee of protection of biodiverse ecosystems” added Caicedo.
Mayor Virna Johnson stated that the signing of this memorandum of understanding between the departmental and district governments and the Netherlands Embassy sets the tone for the alliances for change that they are determined to undertake and strengthen with the Departmental and District Development Plans.
“This step that we are taking today is an incentive for the inhabitants of Magdalena and Santa Marta because of the brotherhood relationships that are stimulated in this agreement and that will positively and directly impact two of our greatest treasures, the lives of our people and the protection of our ecosystems” Johnson stated.
For the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Colombia, Jeroen Roodenburg, this memorandum is a formalization of the broad presence, support and proximity of the Netherlands with the Magdalena and its capital Santa Marta for many years, through the support of projects from private sector and civil society organizations.
“We want to deepen our collaboration also because various of the agricultural value chains that link the Netherlands with Colombia are cultivated in Magdalena, mainly coffee, bananas, cocoa, mango and oil palm. We understand the challenges the department faces, related to climate change and water, for this reason the collaboration in the existing link between water and agriculture is one of the issues that we are committed to work together under this memorandum”, said Roodenburg.
The Dutch Ambassador also promised to support the projects and programs prioritized in the Departmental and District Development Plans in areas such as logistics, circular agriculture, market access, multipurpose cadastre and land tenure formalization, water, infrastructure, health, urban mobility and sustainable tourism.