LatinNews Daily - 05 August 2020

In brief: Colombia prepares investment programme to boost employment

* Colombia’s President Iván Duque has announced a US$30bn investment programme called ‘Commitment to Colombia’, intended to generate 1m jobs over the next two years to replace those lost as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Duque outlined plans to invest in a range of public and private sector projects, including port and airport development, industry and mining projects, 17 digital transformation projects, 22 creative and cultural industries projects, and 25 renewable energy projects. The president emphasised that investment plans would be complemented by similarly generous social protection measures for the most vulnerable, such as the expansion of the ‘solidarity income’ subsidy programme.