Not normally do two public figures tend to share headlines, but this week the peace talks in Colombia received the attention of both former US President Bill Clinton and the newly anointed Pope Francis, who both expressed their support to the peace process to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in separate instances.
The Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos addressed the attendees of the International Mining and Petroleum Conference in Cartagena on Wednesday calling a responsible and sustainable mining and oil industry “the main financier of the transformation in Colombia,” but avoided some of the sensitive topics industry leaders and investors wanted to hear.
The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MinAmbiente) signed an agreement with two institutes in order to further the study and mapping of moorlands and wetlands affected by the La Niña weather phenomenon.
Criticism stemming from a press report last week that Oleoductos de los Llanos Orientales (ODL) had allegedly sought to advance the Araguaney Carmentea pipeline project behind closed doors and without community participation prompted the company to respond to Prensa Libre Casanare.
The Center for Analysis and Public Affairs (CAAP) has presented its first ranking of how well departments are managing royalties –whether direct, indirect, regional compensation, or for science/innovation- as a tool for the public debate surrounding the use of these funds.
Colombian Senator Maritza Martínez Aristizábal has questioned the relationship and awarding of contracts between the state and Canadian oil and gas company Pacific Rubiales ahead of senate discussions surrounding a contract with Ecopetrol set to expire in 2016.