PNN – Colombian President announced that he will unilaterally cancel the contract with the multinational company Glencore if the country continues to export coal to the Israeli regime.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued a clear warning to the multinational company Glencore, stating that if it continues to send coal to the Israeli regime, the company’s contract with the Colombian government will be unilaterally changed.
According to Reuters, Petro said during a regional meeting within the framework of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that If the company refuses to comply with the government’s order to stop exports to Israel, it will ask locals around the coal mine in La Guajira province to take action to block the export route. If we have to, we will change the contract, he said.
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The Serekhun mine, owned by Glencore, is one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world and produced about 19 million tons of coal last year.
In response to this threat, Glencore announced that it stopped exporting coal to Israel before the president’s official order was issued and is currently complying with the order. However, some media outlets have reported that other companies, including Drummond, are continuing to export Colombian coal to Israel.
It is worth noting that in June 2024, following the escalation of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip; the President of Colombia imposed an official ban on coal exports to the regime. But according to customs statistics, between September and April, some 1.24 million tons of Colombian coal worth $100 million were exported to Israel. This prompted Petro to once again call on foreign companies operating in the mining sector to respect the government’s political decisions.
Some economic observers have warned that such measures could undermine foreign investor confidence in Colombia’s energy and mining sectors. But the Petro government insists that this decision was made in line with humanitarian principles and support for the Palestinian people, and that continuing exports to Israel would be contrary to official Colombian foreign policy.