Petro seeks strategic clean energy alliance with Germany
During his state visit to Germany, Colombia’s first left-wing president Gustavo Petro is focusing on strengthening cooperation for the production of renewable energies in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy. Petro was accompanied by Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva Durán, Economy Minister Germán Umaña and Energy Minister Irene Vélez.
Speaking to German CEOs and board members during a luncheon hosted by BDI and LADW, Petro advocated for a bilateral alliance to advance large-scale green hydrogen production and export projects in Colombia in particular. The demand for innovations that impact sustainability is enormous, he said, and South America has unparalleled capacity to generate clean energy.
However, representatives of the companies have made it clear that more business-friendly framework conditions are indispensable for long-term investments. This includes, among other things, a reliable infrastructure for the distribution and transport of renewable energies, legal certainty for the often long-term contracts, and political stability for the implementation of large-scale projects.
Colombia would also like to see more sustainability in trade relations between the two countries. Coal is one of the most exported products to Germany – with an increasing trend due to the Ukraine crisis. Germany is Colombia’s largest trading partner within the EU and the volume of trade between the two countries exceeds 2.5 billion euros.
Petro appeals to business and politics in Germany to ensure that the political discourse is now jointly put into practice.
