Madrid, 28 June 2022. The AL-INVEST Verde programme, as a part of the Component 2 activities, led by FIIAPP and IILA, participated in the installation session of the “Roundtable on Sustainability for Market Access” (Mesa de Sostenibilidad para el Acceso a Mercados, MESAM) of Colombia. This roundtable is part of the Joint Technical Committee on Sustainability of the Colombian National System of Competitiveness and Innovation and is composed by public and private sectors.
The mission of this roundtable is to manage the actions included in a roadmap towards the European Green Deal. This roadmap will guide the process to adjust the Colombian regulations with the European Green Deal (EGD). Its composition includes the Presidency of the Republic and the Colombian ministries of Environment, Agriculture, Trade, Science, Energy, Health, Interior and Foreign Affairs.
Representatives from these institutions, as well as from the private sector, took part in the installation session. AL-INVEST Verde programme was also invited due to its role for providing technical assistance in sustainability to the Latin American public sector in order to boost trade flows between the European Union and Latin America, in line with European regulations and standards.
Articulating strategies between the public and private sector
The session was attended by Lorena Aristizabal, Competitiveness Coordinator; Adriana Vargas, consultant responsible for the roadmap to the European Green Deal, and Emilio Calvo, Director of Component 2 of AL-INVEST Verde.
Lorena Aristizabal confirmed Colombia's interest in adapting the regulations to the guidelines of the EGD, in particular with regard to the Farm to Fork Strategy. This strategy would increase the country's productivity and competitiveness "with an impact on Colombia's main exports to the European Union", added.
The roundtable aims to be a meeting space where the public and private sectors can articulate strategies to address sustainability, human rights, and community requirements.
Adriana Vargas presented recommendations related to the short, medium and long-term actions included in the roadmap, as well as the procedure to validate them through the MESAM. This roadmap seeks the coordination of national institutions whose competences are relevant in the implementation of joint actions that address the guidelines of the EGD. The follow-up of these actions should be periodic "in order to report to all the partners involved and to achieve the expected progress", she said.
Emilio Calvo emphasized that the AL-INVEST Verde programme seeks to accompany countries that want to adapt their political frameworks to the EGD and added: "We can be a key partner, so we want to accompany Colombia in this process of transformation and in the path that starts today".
