President Barack Obama says he will ask the congress for more than US$450 million (NZ$671 million) in aid to help Colombia make good on "an incredible moment of promise" and implement a peace accord.
"After half a century of wrenching conflict, the time has come for peace," said Obama, after meeting Colombian President Juan Manual Santos.
Obama said the aid would help with counterterrorism and narcotics issues, and education and retraining programs to help reintegrate into society members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist rebel group.
In addition, the US government will commit US$33 million to a global program to help the country deal with a legacy of land mines, he said.
"Just as the United States has been Colombia's partner in a time of war, I indicated to President Santos we will be your partner in waging peace," Obama said at a White House reception.
The fight between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a leftist rebel group, has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 1964.
Three previous attempts at a peace accord failed, but after four years of talks, the government and FARC are on the verge of a deal.
Reuters
