Blinken praises Colombia's migrant reception policies

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lauded Colombia's migrant reception policies as a "model" while visiting a migration centre in Bogota.

Washington's top diplomat is on a four-day visit to South America where he will also travel to Chile and Peru to attend the general assembly of the Organisation of American States.

He began his visit, meeting Colombia President Gustavo Petro, the first leftist leader in the country's history.

"Here in this place what we saw today is really a model for many other places," said Blinken while visiting a migrant reception centre alongside Bogota mayor Claudia Lopez.

These reception centres help migrants access public health and education services by grouping all administrative services in the same place.

"We are not going to have a lost generation," added Blinken, who briefly spoke to a young Venezuelan family that arrived in the country five months ago.

Some 2.5 million Venezuelans live in Colombia, according to official figures released in August.

Six million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2015 due to economic and political crises.

The migration policy introduced under former conservative president Ivan Duque has been lauded as particularly generous by Colombia's international partners.

Even so, the presence of millions of Venezuelan migrants is a politically sensitive topic in Colombia.