After holding a meeting with President Bernardo Arévalo, Vice President Kamala Harris offered a press conference in which she highlighted the promises that the Guatemalan president made during the campaign; In addition, she offered her support to continue other investment and security projects.
“During your campaign you promised to fight corruption, you promised to build a coalition to represent all Guatemalans and include members of the indigenous community in the democratic process,” Harris reminded the Guatemalan president.
The official highlighted that Arévalo committed to expanding access to health care and education, combating the climate crisis and growing the country’s economy.
“His election has brought a sense of optimism to the people of the United States and around the world,” the US official added.
Kamala Harris said that despite the challenges that have been posed to Guatemala’s democratic process, the United States was proud to support the president following he emerged victorious in last August’s elections.
The vice president maintained that from her office for the last three years she has led efforts to address the root causes of migration from northern Central America and create a “root causes” strategy to eradicate.
Harris affirms that this strategy is based on five pillars, the first is to invest in the economic development of the region. A second strategy is to combat corruption and promote good governance; The third is to respect human rights and labor rights.
This plan also seeks to eliminate violence and ultimately address gender-based violence, Harris stated.
“This work is improving lives and livelihoods in the region, and addressing the factors that drive people to migrate to the United States,” he said.
He added: “Mr. President, I believe that your presidency offers us an important opportunity to strengthen relations between the United States and Guatemala and make greater progress in each of the five pillars that I have outlined. In particular, Mr. President, I congratulate you for your strong commitment to combating corruption.”
The vice president also said that like American business leaders they need stability, predictability and the rule of law to make their investments in countries like Guatemala worthwhile. “And corruption, of course, strengthens criminal organizations and perpetuates violence,” she insisted.
Support
“Mr. President, as you hold corrupt actors accountable and promote good governance, we support you,” the vice president warned.
Harris states that with the implemented strategy they have achieved short-term progress in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras and have helped 63 thousand farmers increase their production and income, and has reached almost 3 thousand young people through primary and secondary education. .
“We have trained more than 18 thousand police officers and nearly 27 thousand people to strengthen the judicial systems. “We have supported thousands of labor and human rights activists across the region,” she added.
He also said that through the strategy they have increased private sector investment in the region to help create jobs and expand economic opportunities.
He mentioned that they have established the initiative Central America Forwardan innovative public-private partnership that for the past 3 years has been driven by CEOs and philanthropic leaders around the world.
“I am pleased to announce that, to date, this partnership has generated more than US$5.2 billion in private sector commitments with more than 50 companies representing financial services, textiles, apparel, agriculture, technology and telecommunications” , he noted.
Until now, Central America Forward It has created 70,000 new jobs throughout the region, provided vocational training to more than a thousand people, incorporated more than 2,500 people into the formal financial economy, and connected more than 4.5 million people to the Internet.
“Today’s announcement of more than $1 billion in new investments including power transmission projects to connect people to the grid, an initiative to transport crops from small farms to new and larger markets, the construction of a new industrial park and digital financial inclusion and workforce development. programs,” she pointed out.
Answer
For his part, President Bernardo Arévalo expressed gratitude for the support that the United States provided to the country during the transition process.
“The actions of the United States and the international community in support of democracy and the rule of law were fundamental to ensuring that the popular will of the Guatemalan people prevails,” he said.
He added: “This meeting today reflects what we believe will be strong continued support from the United States for our efforts to consolidate democracy, strengthen public institutions and fight corruption, and promote economic prosperity and sustainable development that benefits all Guatemalans.”
Arévalo committed to doing everything possible to meet those expectations and achieve results in the short, medium and long term.
“We recognize that many of the problems we face are structural and long-standing, and cannot be resolved in a short period of time, nor without the support and cooperation of the United States and other key international partners,” Arévalo added.
The Guatemalan president said that it is a truly historic moment that offers great promise to strengthen our collaboration and move forward together as strategic partners based on shared values and common interests.
Arévalo has been in the US since last Sunday, March 24, and his agenda will extend until next Wednesday, March 26, when he includes a meeting with the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS).
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