Washington, Feb 4 (EFE).– U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday announced the “Peace Colombia” plan, a new bilateral accord between Washington and Bogota for which he will ask Congress for some $450 million in the fiscal 2017 budget, substantially more than the $296 million authorized for that country this year.

The president announced the proposal during the White House ceremony to commemorate the 15 years of Plan Colombia accompanied in the East Room by his Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, in a gesture intended to redefine U.S. aid for the Andean nation.

Obama said he was proud to announce a new framework for the next chapter in the bilateral association after praising the efforts of Santos to achieve an end to Colombia’s more-than-50-year-old internal conflict against leftist guerrillas.

He said that Plan Colombia has been a tribute to the Colombian people, who after “15 years of sacrifices” are now on the threshold of a new era after a noteworthy nationwide transformation.

“In short, a country that was on the brink of collapse is now on the brink of peace,” Obama said. “In Colombia today, there is hope.”

He also said he wanted to deepen relations with Colombia in other areas such as trade and investment in clean energy, assuring Bogota that it will not find a “better partner” than the United States.

With regard to the pending peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, rebels, currently being finalized in Havana, Obama expressed his “admiration” for Santos for having gone to the negotiating table with the guerrillas despite the political risk that entailed, and he thanked Cuba for its role in hosting the talks.

“We all know that it’s easier to start wars than to end them, but after half a century of wrenching conflict, the time has come for peace,” Obama said. EFE