BOGOTA, July 2 (Reuters) – Colombia’s President-elect Abelardo De La Espriella said on Thursday he has instructed incoming Finance Minister Miguel Gomez to travel to Washington to meet international banks and multilateral lenders as part of an effort to refinance the country’s public debt and ease pressure on state finances.
In a post on X, De La Espriella said Colombia’s net debt is at historically high levels and that refinancing it would be one of several measures his government will adopt to restore fiscal order and rebuild confidence in the economy.
• He said Gomez had been told to begin meetings with international banks and multilateral financial institutions to seek better debt maturities and borrowing costs.
• The move comes as investors watch for signs of how the new government, which takes office on August 7, will address Colombia’s worsening fiscal outlook.
• Gomez said on Wednesday that the fiscal deficit stands at between 7% and 8% of gross domestic product, above the levels reported by the outgoing government.
• Earlier in June, the finance ministry raised its 2026 fiscal deficit target to 5.3% of GDP from 5.1%. Colombia posted a fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP in 2025.
• The Autonomous Committee of the Fiscal Rule said last week that Colombia faces a funding shortfall of 39.6 trillion pesos ($11.55 billion) to meet its 2026 fiscal target, and that without further measures the 2027 gap would reach 46 trillion pesos.
(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
