Colombia could grow like Asia if rebels disarm: Minister
Friday, September 21, 2012

Colombia’s economy could see Asia- like growth of 6 percent to 7 percent “for decades” if the government strikes a peace deal with Marxist rebels in soon-to- begin negotiations, Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said.
An eventual deal with guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, could open the country’s eastern plains to Brazilian-style agribusiness, and divert tax revenue from security and defense spending to more productive uses, Cardenas said in an interview in his Bogota office.
“My bet is that if anything is going to grow faster in Colombia with the end of the conflict, it’s going to be agricultural production,” the 50-year-old Cardenas said in an interview 17 days after being sworn in as finance chief. “We’re talking about palm oil, soybeans, rubber, sugarcane, things like that.”
Source: Bloomberg