Good morning to all. Welcome to this meeting, this shareholders meeting of Ecopetrol, general shareholders meeting. As the president of Ecopetrol SA, I am pleased to greet all shareholders present here and all the ones that are present via this live streaming through our website. In our main table, we have Mr. Rodolfo García, deputy VP or acting VP and general secretary, who will be the secretary of the general assembly, of the general shareholders meeting. I would also like to greet all union organizations. I would like to greet regional, national, and international media present here today. I would like to greet the members of the board of directors and our executive committee and the rest of the Ecopetrol staff who are here with us today, both in person as via streaming through our digital channels.
Now, it's time to present and kick off our event. So first of all, we would like to show you a video with our safety recommendations, recommendations that we will follow during this shareholders meeting. Welcome to the non-industrial facilities of Ecopetrol Bogotá. Protocols in case of an emergency. Ecopetrol works with safety first. If you have a medical emergency, please call the line you see on the screen. If you are trained on first aid, please provide initial support and wait for specialized help. If not, please establish a perimeter and don't let anyone touch the injured individual. Do not provide food or beverages. Tell the person to remain calm. If in case of an emergency due to an earthquake, stay away from the windows. Try to find a safe place to hide. Wait for the indications from the experts and first responders.
Do not use the elevators, and please head to the meeting point. In case of a fire, if you listen to the alarm in your floor, please leave the premises. If it's a different floor, wait for indications. If you are in an elevator and the elevator stops working, please make sure the people are okay. Use the emergency line and the intercom inside the elevator. Do not try to leave the elevator if this is not fully leveled. If there is any type of public unrest, please stay at the facilities and follow the instructions of the security personnel. Take alternate routes. Evacuation procedure. If you have to evacuate, be calm and follow the indications and instructions. Go down the evacuation stairs. Inform that you have arrived well to the meeting point. If you're a visitor, always stay near to the Ecopetrol employee.
Your responsibility and commitment guarantee your safety within our facilities. Thank you very much. Mr. Secretary of this meeting, please verify the quorum. Good morning to all shareholders. I would like to inform you that the subscribed shares of Ecopetrol are 41 thousand 160 thousand 694 thousand shares. According to the statutes, the quorum indicates direct or indirect shareholders and at least half plus one. Right now, we have in the room 39... We have the number that we're reading right now of the shares. This means that we do have a 95.81% present quorum of all the subscribed shares. This means, Mr. President, that we do have a quorum to debate and decide. Given the fact that we do have a quorum, I officially declare this meeting open. Mr.
Secretary, please tell us about the main regulations of this meeting, and then we will read our agenda. Yes, Mr. President. In order to inform all the people here, we have prepared a video that shows rights and duties of the shareholders and will clearly explain how to vote the items of the agenda. Please pay attention to the following video. Thank you very much. Rights and duties. Ecopetrol has about 255,000 shareholders. Most of them are Colombians. Now, we will answer to the most frequent questions that we usually get. What type of shares do I have in Ecopetrol? These are called ordinary shares, just as the rest of the shareholders of the company. What rights do I have by holding ordinary shares? Political and economic shares.
The main ones are the right to inspection and the right to vote, which allows to discuss, debate, and vote. Within the main economic votes are the right to receive dividends via the holding of the shares and to transfer them to third parties. How can I make an intervention? If you want to make an intervention, you must register at the information point located in front of the elevators of the second floor with your name and cédula or ID number. You have to manifest on which item of the agenda do you want to talk about. If you're acting with power of attorney, we will ask for the information. For how long can each shareholder speak? Interventions cannot be more than three minutes, and they must go directly on the item that you're talking about.
No shareholder can have an intervention for more than once on the same topic. The president of the meeting can use the faculties endowed in the meeting regulations, order the interventions, soliciting or asking for further explanations. Who answers the questions of the shareholders? During the meeting, shareholders that have doubts or questions can go to the information point in front of the elevator of the second floor, and there you will have Ecopetrol employees who have the capabilities to answer your questions. How can I issue a proposal to the general meeting? If you have a proposal, it must be related to the points of the agenda, and it's called a proposition. In order to submit a proposition, you must register it in order to intervene and fill out the form that you will receive at the information point. What do we vote?
Most of the points of the agenda which are laid out are voted by the shareholders. The question voted will be called an item. Who can vote? All shareholders and all people acting on behalf of the shareholders. If you leave the room, you will no longer be part of a quorum. You can vote with a yes through an applause. If your vote is no, or it's a blank vote, or a multiple choice, you must do this through the electronic voting system. You can access the platform through your smartphone by scanning the QR code, which is located in the back of your badge. As always, this process will be overseen by the Committee for Elections and Voting. If you don't have a smartphone, try to find someone with a green shirt and they will help you.
If you don't have a data plan in your device, you can connect to the open Wi-Fi. The items to be voted will be available when the main table indicates. Voting through digital platform. When you vote the first proposal, please scan the code on the back of your badge. You will say yes when you see your name. Step two, you will have a screen with the question and the yes, no, or blank vote. Step three, confirm the submission of the information. Step four, if you are acting on behalf of several shareholders, you must vote for each one of them. Once you do this, the register will change to green. Step five, each time you have to vote for a new proposal, you must reload. If you have any problem, please go to the people with the green shirts, and they will help you.
We would like to remind you that in this meeting, you can vote yes through an applause. Remember that if your vote is no, or it's a blank vote, or it's a multiple option, you must do it through our electronic voting system. If you don't choose any option, automatically, your vote will be accounted for as a yes in favor for the proposal. Electronic voting will be done through the QR code, once again, on the back of your badge. And if you don't have a smartphone or if you have any problems, please raise your hand and one of the helpers with the green T-shirt will come to you and help you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. With all this said, let's please start reading our agenda. Yes, Mr. President. Now, I would like to read the agenda, which was published on December 19, 2023....
33 in our website and in the national newspapers on December twentieth, and which is still in our website within the terms of our social statutes. First of all, safety moment. Second, verification of the quorum. Third, official opening of the meeting by the President of Ecopetrol S.A. Fourth, approval of the agenda. Fifth, appointment of the President of the General Shareholders Meeting. Sixth, appointment of the Commission for vote counting of the General Shareholders Assembly. Seventh, appointment of the Commission for revision and approval of the minutes of the General Shareholders Meeting. Eighth, presentation and approval of the statutory reforms. Mr. Secretary, please inform the meeting if we have registered interventions to be part of this point of the agenda. Mr. President, we don't have any registered interventions for this point. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We request the shareholders that at the beginning of their intervention...
But we have no interventions. Due to the fact that we have no registered interventions, we move on to the following point in order to ask the general assembly if you approve the agenda for this meeting. Keeping in mind that most said, yes, this proposal has been approved. The exact results will be presented at the end of the agenda and will state, registered in the minutes: votes yes, votes no, and blank votes. The shareholders that wish to vote against or blank vote, please take your device, read the QR code on the back of your badge, select the choice - select the option of your choice. If you don't have a device, once again, please remember that you can raise your hand and one of the helpers with the green T-shirts will come by to help you.
Moving on with the next point of the agenda, which is the appointment of the President of the General Shareholders Meeting. I would like to propose the following: I would like to appoint Mr. Ricardo Bonilla González, Minister of Finance of Colombia, as the president of this general shareholders meeting. Please inform us if we have any registered interventions. No, we don't. Thank you. So now, I would like to present to the meeting the proposal that says that Mr. Ricardo Bonilla González, Minister of Finance of Colombia, as the president of this general shareholders meeting. Taking into account the vote in favor, we approve this. The exact results will be presented at the end of the meeting and will be registered in the official minutes.
We kindly request to the shareholders that wish to vote against or who want to have a blank vote, please take the QR code on the back of your badge, select the option of your choice, and press vote. If you don't have a device, once again, you can raise your hand and one of the helpers with green T-shirts will come and help you. We now invite Mr. Ricardo Bonilla to come to our executive table. You have the floor.
Thank you very much. Good morning to all the shareholders and to the participants of this meeting. It's an honor to be here. Mr. Secretary, let's move on with the agenda, please.
Yes, Mr. President. The next point is the appointment of the Commission for Count, Voting, and Elections. There is a proposal for the integration of this committee presented by Francisco Moreno, acting as power of attorney of a shareholder of Ecopetrol. This is the following text. Move with that, January. General Assembly of Ecopetrol, respected sirs and madams, for this meeting, I propose that the Election and Voting Committee to be integrated by the following members: Daniel Caicedo, acting on behalf of Rafael Mule. Gloria Marmol, acting on behalf of Lisette Fuentes. Francisco Eduardo Moreno, acting on behalf of Juliana Mejía. Best regards, Francisco Moreno, acting on behalf of Juliana Elena Mejía.... I kindly request the people that are part of the list to please stand up in order to confirm that your attendance and your acceptance to be part of this commission. Thank you. Mr.
President, I would like to inform that we have no registered interventions for this point of the agenda. In that case, it's submitted for approval. The Election and Vote Counting Committee, do you approve? Taking into account the vote in favor, we approve this proposal. Exact results will be presented and registered in the final minute. The shareholders that wish to vote against or blank vote, please use the same methodology. Use the QR code on the back part of your badge, select the option of your choice, and press vote. Once again, if you have any problems, please call one of the helpers with the green T-shirts. Thank you. Mr. Secretary, if it's approved, let's move on with the agenda. Yeah, Mr. President. The next point is the appointment of the Commission for Revision and Approval of the Minutes of the General Assembly of Shareholders.
I would like to tell you that at the Secretary General's office, we have a proposal from Ana Milena López, where she proposes the candidates to integrate the members of the commission for the approval of the minutes. The text of the communication is the following: Bogotá, January tenth. General Assembly of Ecopetrol, Bogotá. Respected gentlemen and madams, in this General Assembly Shareholders Meeting, I would like to propose that the main and deputy commission responsible for the revision and approval of the minutes to be integrated by the following people or their representatives: the Minister of Finance, Sergio Londoño, acting on behalf of Herman González, Ana Milena López. Deputy Commission, Daniel Caicedo, acting on behalf of Rafael Mule, Gloria Mercedes Marmol, acting on behalf of Lisette Fuentes, Francisco Moreno, acting on behalf of Juliana Mejía. Respectfully, Ana Milena López.
I kindly ask the people that are part of the list that we just read, please stand up in order to confirm your attendance, your acceptance. Thank you very much. You may be seated. I request the secretary to inform us if we have a registered interventions. Mr. President, we don't have registered interventions. In that case, I would like to ask the general shareholders meeting if we can approve this. Taking into account the yes, we understand, and we confirm that this proposal has been approved. Exact results will be presented at the end of the agenda and will be registered in the minutes. Votes in favor, votes against, blank votes. We kindly request the shareholders that wish to vote against or issue a blank vote to take your device, use the QR code. On the back of your badge, select the option of your choice and press vote.
If you don't have a smartphone or you have any type of problems, please raise your hand and one of the helpers with the green T-shirts will come by and help you. Mr. Secretary, given the fact that we have approved this point of the agenda, we remind the members of the commissions that the main commission must act for five days, counted from the first day of the submission of the minutes. If there is no response, the deputy commissioner will start working, which will have five business days in order to approve it. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Let's move on, please, with the agenda. Yes, sir. Moving on now to the presentation of the statutory approval. Mr. President.
I would like to inform that we received communication of the nation from the Ministry of Finance as the shareholder of Ecopetrol, where they proposed the general shareholders meeting to reform Article 21 of the Social Statutes, which you are seeing on the screen, and I will read. Article 21: Minimum requirements to be part of the board of directors. The members of the board of directors will be committed to the corporate vision of Ecopetrol and must comply to the following things. Number one, have international knowledge and experience, both international and national, in the main activities of Ecopetrol, and to have experience and a trusted track record in industry, commercial, financial, corporate risk, stock market, administrative or legal experience, have more than 12 years of professional experience, have a good name in the market, and not being part of more than 5 board of directors, including Ecopetrol.
For the board of directors, we will consider gender diversity and inclusion criteria, which must comply to the minimum requirements to be part of the board of directors included in this proposal or in this article. 30%, at least, of this board of directors must be women. The profiles of the members of the board of directors will be revised and updated by the board of directors or by the institutional committee that the board of directors defines. The shareholder said that this change is aligned to the National Development Plan in what it lays out for the board of directors, which includes, as of 2026, 30% inclusion of women in the different board of directors.
The reform strives to make progress in gender plurality in the board of directors and in diversity of the ages, by allowing that with less professional experience, new generations can be part of the board of directors in the future. According to internal regulations, this proposal went to the Corporate Governance Committee and the board of directors of Ecopetrol. In addition to that, we would like to inform the shareholders that this society, that this corporation, through its inclusion policies and the different board of directors of the companies of the group and the Program for Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, has declared its commitment. Hence, this proposal for statutory reforms doubles down on this aspiration. With that said, Mr. Secretary, I would like to inform you that we have registered interventions. Mr. President, we have two registered interventions.
In that case, due to the fact that we have two registered interventions, the shareholders that will speak are Mr. César Loza and, secondly, Martín Rebello. I kindly remind you that you have three minutes for your intervention, and the time is running. Please be reminded that each one of the shareholders or representatives will have three minutes, and you must refer to the exact point of the agenda that we're talking about.
Mr. Loza, the floor is yours. Thank you. Greetings to all, Mr. Bonilla, Mr. Roa, and Mr. García. I am the president of the Union of USO, U-S-O, and I would like to speak briefly. I would like to be. I want to be very brief. First of all, from the union, we are aligned with this government, which we backed up, specifically in the point regarding energy transition. We feel that it's necessary for the country, necessary for the world. But of course, we feel that energy transition must be fair, inclusive, and responsible. And we must keep in mind that the resources, the money needed for this transition, should be given by the industry of oil and gas. Secondly, we greet from the union, this statutory reform, which allows new people to join and provide new oxygen to the board of directors.
Also, we greet the transformation that Ecopetrol is embarked on. We think that it's healthy for oil and gas companies, in this case, Ecopetrol, to transform into energy companies. This could clearly be seen with what happened with Statoil, a Norwegian company, which became Equinor, with the purpose of becoming an energy generation company. But we also see that it's very important to not lose the main scope that Ecopetrol has had historically.
We must keep on investing in oil and gas, in exploration, in hydrocarbons, in all the lines of business, which are key for the future of Ecopetrol, and they are key to guarantee energy sovereignty in Colombia. We hope that this statutory reform is the transition that takes us to the day, hopefully soon, that one worker of Ecopetrol can finally be part of the board of directors of Ecopetrol. We think that it's necessary that the main interest groups that are part of production to have a voice and the space in the board of directors, as it happens in other companies, and even complying to what is established in the National Constitution of Colombia in Article 57. And finally, I wanna talk about two things. And please give me no more than one minute, please.
We fully support the changes that the new administration has been carrying out in Ecopetrol. Mr. Rojas' changes have our full support. Hopefully, with this new HR VP, we can actually eliminate the zero-one agreement, which is an anti-union pact. We hope that HR repairs our union as a victim of armed conflict, and that you stop seeing the union as an enemy, but you see it as a helper that can help build together with the administration of Ecopetrol. And finally, from our union organization, we wish that the country does well, that the administration of Ecopetrol does well, and that we build together, and we strengthen this great company for the good of Colombia, for the good of communities, and for the good of the workers. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Loza. We will now give the floor to Martín Rebello. You have three minutes, please.
Good morning. Greetings to you all. I am also a union leader, and I would like to talk about two things that for us are very important, which are energy transition and social economic transition in the producing regions. Keeping in mind that the development of the most important company in Colombia will happen in the regions, that everybody has high expectations regarding that democratization process and that change process that our company is going through. We're becoming a company that will develop and manage energy produced in Colombia. In the regions, we strive for the social economic dynamic that has... We hope to keep that energy transition steady process. We hope that you keep on protecting employment.
We hope that we don't have unnecessary regional conflicts that affect the production of oil and gas, and that actually, the workers in the future actually become key players in the process of transformation of our company into an energy company. The workers. That, the workers have done our best and our biggest effort in order for hydrocarbons to be exploited in a much cleaner and sustainable fashion, in order to generate wealth for the country, in order for Colombia to present nowadays, those very hopeful growth figures. We feel and we believe that by stimulating the processes of oil production and exploration, exploitation must be kept aligned together with the energy transition process.
That requires, or that means, that in the producing regions, we actually strengthen working reconversion so that labor is diversified, so those regional capabilities are boosted, and that workers have the capability of preserving their labor rights and preserving the most important thing to dignify their lives, which is the possibility to work.
Thank you, Mr. Rebello. We close the interventions. Mr. Secretary, could you inform us if we have any other information?
Mr. President, we don't have any other proposal alternative for this point. Nevertheless, the port veneer, they have requested a voting constancy.
So now I would like to submit the reform of Article 21 of the statutes. Taking into account, the in favor of most of the people, this is approved. If you wish to vote against or in blank vote, please take your device, use the QR code on the back of your badge and vote. Press the option of your choice. If you have any problems, please call the helpers with the green T-shirts, which will come to your aid. Due to the fact that this is the last point of the agenda, we kindly request the shareholders to wait for a couple of minutes in order for the voting to finish, so we can inform you with the exact results of the voting process. Thank you very much. Please stand by. Voting in process. Please stand by. Thank you very much.
In Ecopetrol, we are committed to decarbonization, zero net emissions in 2050. One of the energies of the future through which we will tackle global warming is hydrogen, which does not produce CO2 in its final use. It is obtained through different processes, and its color is determined by the level of emissions. Hydrogen stores energy and has a very high capability of providing energy when compared to other fuels. Gray energy comes up when you divide hydrogen and CO2 by using vapor. 90% of the hydrogen produced in the world is gray. The blue one happens when you capture different processes. Green Hydrogen can be produced through biogases and electrolysis. Being this last route, the most common one, you divide the water molecule through electricity, and you split it into hydrogen and oxygen.
White hydrogen has a geological natural origin in underground deposits, and it requires similar extraction as natural gas. The blue one, the gray, the blue one, are the energy sources that will actually allow a clean economy. Hydrogen is used as a raw material in the industry and in the refineries, and it plays a very important role by eliminating impurities in diesel and fuel. It improves the quality of the air we breathe. Through technological advances, the main uses in the future will be in maritime, land, air, mobility, thermal applications, and energy storage. One of the main challenges of hydrogen is transportation. For short distances, it is shipped through gas or liquefied manner, and for exports, it is sent as methanol or ammonia. Through hydrogen, we will keep on delivering the energy that moves Colombia. Voting in process. Please stand by.
Our efforts have helped us to bring life quality to the families. We are checking all the projects that Ecopetrol is carrying out. Social projects. One of them is providing maintenance through the different inroads of our small municipalities. This is done 100% via Ecopetrol's resources. We are carrying out civil works to have energy. We have structures, we have cables, and hopefully, we can finish this great project. Right now, we are covering the soccer field. These projects that benefit the communities are carried out together with local governments. We are seeing the same video. It's talking about what Ecopetrol is doing in the different regions of Colombia. They are visiting the different projects that are being done, 100% funded by Ecopetrol, providing maintenance to the roads that lead to the different municipalities, projects that are done 100% with the resources provided by Ecopetrol.
They are working on the energy grid, structures, cables, and hopefully, they will finish this very important project that brings life quality to faraway municipalities of Colombia. They are finishing the roof for the soccer field. Once again, we're watching the video, hydrogen. As you know, hydrogen is used as a raw material for the industry and for refineries, and it plays a very important role by eliminating impurities in gasoline and diesel, improving the air quality. The main future uses will be in land, maritime, air, mobility, thermal applications, and energy storage. One of the main challenges for hydrogen is transportation.
For short distances, it's sent in a liquefied or gas state, and for exports, it's sent as methanol and ammonia. With hydrogen, we will keep on providing the energy that moves Colombia. Voting in process, please stand by. In Puerto Gaitán, we provide the energy to build a brilliant future. That is why we have brought more than 5,000 elements for schools that will be used at the Jorge Eliécer Gaitán School. We wanna thank Ecopetrol for fulfilling the dream of these youngsters and tackling high school and school dropouts. We provided whiteboards, chairs, desks. Thank you very much. We will use them properly, and we will make you proud. We incentivize the road to excellence and a future for the inhabitants of this region of Colombia. There is an energy that moves the world, that connects us.
It's invisible, but it's fundamental for our life. For more than 70 years, we use it in order to build a region that grows, advances, and transforms itself. We are Ecopetrol, a diversified energy group, which is part in all the points of the hydrocarbons chain: exploration, production, transportation, refining, trading, energy transmission, and road infrastructure. We are one of the main energy companies in Latin America and the biggest one in Colombia. Our commitment is to generate and add value to Colombia, and at the same time, guarantee sustainability of the energy grid and working on transition. We are present in 16 countries, among them, Brazil, Singapore, the U.S. In Colombia, we operate in all the regions that you can see on the screen.
We develop imported exploration and production projects, and we have two refineries in Barranca and in Cartagena, which are the main and more valuable assets of the country because they produce the fuels that the country needs. We are the biggest producer of hydrogen in Colombia. We use it to produce cleaner diesel and fuel. We reached a milestone by creating the first molecules of Green Hydrogen, the element that will decarbonize industries. An iguana represents us. This is our brand. We are recognized as one of the most solid companies in South America. Ecopetrol has the nation as its biggest shareholder, with more than 80% of participation. We are listed in the NYSE and in the Colombian Stock Exchange and in the New York Stock Exchange.
More than 18,000 people represent our essence, our diversity, our inclusion, and they use our energy to keep on connected as a single team in order to deliver exceptional results and support the development of the regions and communities where we operate. We adapt in order to tackle the changing conditions of the environment through a 2040 strategy, which we call Energy for Transformation, and it's a helix with four main turbines, and it tackles all challenges, environmental, social, and government, keeping a focus on sustainable value generation. With this strategy, we can grow. This means that we can keep on producing hydrocarbons with great sustainability and innovation. You can also read the subtitles on the screen. Subtitles on the screen available. We will venture into low-emission businesses. We advance in the generation of value with sustainability.
It is our commitment to develop a responsible operation, which is safe and efficient, which respects the environment and society, and that acts through a transparent, ethical framework. We use technology to provide innovative solutions today and in the future, so we can all win. We generate jobs. We strive for the access of more families to public utilities such as natural gas, drinking water, education. Our purpose is to actually use the talent of our main human resource, which is the people. We want to strengthen diverse and inclusive teams. What differentiates us makes us stronger. We seek growth and value generation. We are very rigorous in the use of resources. We dream of leading decarbonization, and we want to contribute to the mitigation of climate change. We are on the zero net carbon emission road to 2050 and hopefully, water neutrality in 2045.
We are moved by our pursuit of supporting the people that believe in a prosperous tomorrow in every single corner of Colombia. That is why between 2019 and 2024, we provided COP 3.5 billion-COP 3.6 billion Colombian pesos to improve the life quality, and we actually contributed to peace building. For more than 70 years, thousands of our people have given their best talents, and they have made Ecopetrol grand. We are proud of our union. We are proud that our company has the greatest capacity of attracting talent and retaining talent. Voting in process. Please stand by. Thank you, shareholders. On the screens, you will see the results of each one of the points of the agenda that was voted on. Summary of the voting. Do you approve the agenda with a 41.2% quorum?
Vote yes, 99.980230%. No, 0.01788%. For Proposal B, do you approve the appointment of the President of the General Assembly of Ecopetrol? For yes, 99.9891943%. No, 0.010796777%. For Proposal C, do you approve the appointment of the Commission of Elections and Vote Counting? Yes, 99.9891926%. No, 0.01079678%. In regards to the number of positions, you can see the application of the electoral number, where each one of the people that have been shortlisted were chosen. The first one, as you can see on the screen.
Do you approve the appointment of the Commission for Revision and Approval of the Minutes? Yes, 99.9997230%. For no, 0%. On the screen, you can see the application of the spot via electoral quotient for the positions of the Minister of Finance and for Mr. Sergio Londoño, elected via electoral quotient and Ana Milena López, elected by the remaining voting. Same thing for the deputies, Daniel Caicedo and Gloria Marmol, chosen via electoral quotient, and Francisco Moreno, elected via remainder voting. Do you approve the statutory reform with a 49.2 quorum? For yes, 98.1599991%, and for no, only 1.840000881%. Mr. President, these are the results of the voting carried out and held today. He's muted.
Thank you to the people here with us. Thank you very much. Have a great day, and we hope to see you in our general shareholders ordinary meeting of 2024. The meeting is adjourned. Thank you very much. Bye-bye.