Finally: almost six months after his possession, Joe Biden spoke with Iván Duque and announced the donation of vaccines to Colombia

Five months after Joe Biden took office as President of the United States, the first conversation took place with President Iván Duque, By a phone call in which the donation of vaccines from that country to Colombia was confirmed.

At around 10:27 a.m., the two leaders held an initial telephone conversation during which, according to President Duque, the importance of the strategic alliance between the two nations was reaffirmed.

As reported by the Presidency of the Republic, The call focused on economic reactivation and jobs, the global climate change agenda and the two leaders’ position on democracy in Venezuela.

The most important announcement made by the presidential appeal was the confirmation of a donation of 2.5 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Janssen which will serve the same number of Colombians, since only requires one application.

“Today we had a telephone conversation, which reaffirms our status as historical allies with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, I want to thank you for the nice gesture you have with our country by donating 2.5 million Janssen vaccines to reach 2.5 million Colombians since it is a single dose“said President Duque.

Subsequently, the president assured that the donation from the United States will arrive in “a few days”, which will strengthen the application of vaccines and quickly reach the end of July goal of 25 million vaccines applied. “Our goal is to reach these 35 million vaccinated (collective immunity) this year. If we keep pace as we do, we say that in the first two or three weeks of September, the vaccination of 35 million Colombians in a single dose will have been completed.“Added the president in dialogue with Bruce Mac Master.

President Biden, according to the Presidency of Colombia, expressed concern about the situation in Venezuela and its regional impact, and stressed the importance of seeking an international consensus for free and fair elections. He also recognized Colombia’s efforts to offer temporary protection status to Venezuelan migrants who had to leave due to the situation in their country.

“To thank him for his commitment to defending democracy in our region and, like us, to call things by name and say who he is a dictator and to demand that Venezuela have free elections», Declared Duque of the opposition to the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

The appeal also included a statement of solidarity from the US president, who ratified his support for President Duque, after the six-shot attack the presidential helicopter suffered during a trip to Cúcuta on June 26.

“Thank you for your support for the institutions of our country and also for these shared values ​​of protecting peaceful demonstration as a right and acting with public order against acts of vandalism or acts of urban terrorism, obviously with strict respect for human rights and where there is zero tolerance for any individual behavior that is contrary to them, ”Duque said in a statement after the call.

As reported by the Presidency, Duque invited President Joe Biden to visit the country in the company of the First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden. Recall that the current US president had already visited the country in 2016, when he was vice-president of the Barack Obama administration.

“Thank you for your commitment to support our climate change agenda, where we reduce emissions by 51% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This conversation reaffirms how officials from two sister nations can work toward common goals, guided by building a better society.“Iván Duque underlined the conversation.

Colombia’s Ambassador-designate to Washington, following Francisco Santos’s resignation, Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno, thanked President Biden for donating vaccines to the country. “The United States has always supported Colombia in all difficult times,” he said.

“Big sign: Dialogue between Presidents Iván Duque and Joe Biden It is a sign of confidence and strength in the strategic relationship between the Colombian and American peoples.Pinzón added on his Twitter account.

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