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(Reuters) -
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday an initial donation of 2.5 million covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical company Janssen to Colombia, the South American country's presidency reported.
Colombia, with 4.15 million positive cases and 104,678 deaths from coronavirus, is advancing in a process to immunize 70% of its 50 million inhabitants.
So far, it has applied 17.2 million doses.
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Biden's announcement came during a phone call he had with the president of Colombia, Iván Duque, in which they discussed economic reactivation, employment, the global agenda for climate change, as well as shared values in terms of democracy. and human rights.
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The two leaders also discussed the importance of effectively facing common threats to regional security and transnational crime.
"The two presidents expressed their willingness to work together on a comprehensive agenda that contributes to the security and development of the two countries and of Latin America in general," said a statement from the Colombian Presidency.
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In the call, Biden expressed concern about the situation in Venezuela and its regional impact, while highlighting the importance of seeking an international consensus for free and fair elections in the oil nation.
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He also recognized Colombia's effort in offering Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants who left their country due to the political, economic and social crisis.
Colombia became the main destination for Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country and is currently home to around 1.8 million Venezuelan citizens.
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For its part, the White House said that Biden expressed to Duque the support of the United States after the attack suffered by the helicopter in which the president of the South American country was traveling on Friday, who was unharmed along with other officials who accompanied him.
The US president also expressed his support for the rights of peaceful protesters and stressed that the application of the law "must be subject to the highest standards of responsibility."
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Anti-government protests in Colombia began in late April in opposition to a tax reform that was withdrawn.
Although most of the demonstrations were peaceful, some ended in acts of vandalism, looting and clashes between protesters and the police.
The United States is Colombia's main ally in the fight against drug trafficking and illegal armed groups such as the FARC dissidents, the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army and criminal gangs involved in the production and trafficking of cocaine.
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