At this meeting, the World Bank presented the results of the report on World Development 2023: Migrants, Refugees and Societies. In addition, he took the opportunity to discuss its implications for Colombia, taking into account that our country is the largest recipient of the Venezuelan population in the world, and has recently become a transit area for the population heading north of the continent.
The report highlights how many countries are increasingly dependent on migration to realize their long-term growth potential, but also identifies trends as unique opportunities for migrants, refugees and societies to grow to their fullest potential.
The mayoress, Claudia López, assured that “in Bogotá a principle of Colombian and Latin American wisdom has been applied: where two eat, three eat. We have made an enormous local and national effort as a city and as a country, with all our solidarity.” And speaking of Colombia being the largest recipient of the Venezuelan population in the world, the district president stated that there are close to 600,000 Venezuelans in the city , who have arrived in the capital in recent years.
During the presentation of the report, the District issued a call to action with two specific requests: that globalization be not only financial, but also human, and a new deal (new agreement) of human mobility and climate response for our continent.
“The Americas are the most democratic region in the world, with the greatest multilateralism and the most convergences. Political stability depends on investment in job opportunities for women and youth. It is time to move from speech to action with concrete investments in education and employment”, said Claudia López during her intervention. “The time has come to make a new pact, a plan for the Americas, because this is not a challenge, not only for Bogotá or Colombia. The time has come to do the new deal of human mobility and climate change for the Americas”, he explained.
The Mayor said that a clear and explicit proposal from the United States government is in arrears: “President Joe Biden has outlined it in some way at the meeting of the Summit of the Americas, with heads of state, last year past in Los Angeles, and this year at the Mayors Summit in Denver. This must be stated explicitly,” she maintained, noting that “the economic, climatic, and political stability of the United States government, and of all the governments of the Americas, depends on that new deal of human mobility and climate change”.
The World Bank Report highlights how populations around the world are aging at unprecedented rates, making many countries increasingly dependent on migration to realize their long-term growth potential. The report identifies this trend as a unique opportunity to make migration contribute more to economies and people.