BOGOTA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Ivan Duque invited Colombians on Friday to begin making their Christmas purchases in November in order to boost the economy during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
During a meeting of the Colombian Confederation of Chambers of Commerce (Confecamaras), the president urged Colombians to embrace "the idea of going out early for Christmas" and to start making Christmas purchases beginning in mid to late November.
The president said that together with the chambers of commerce, he would work in the coming days to promote the initiative in an attempt to boost the economy, which has been damaged by the pandemic, as well as to avoid the creation of crowds during the Christmas shopping season.
Duque spoke on how the business sector promotes social transformation in the country, adding that his government is standing by the business sector, as it recognizes that without business development, increased employment and social prosperity cannot occur.
The National Administrative Department of Statistics of Colombia (DANE) reported on Friday that, after the reactivation of the economy in September, the unemployment rate fell one point compared to August to 15.8 percent. Enditem
