Support for Colombia’s international participation

(June 03, 2011).- A cooperation agreement for study of issues related to the international participation of Colombia and Latin America was signed today in Bogotá by Enrique García, president & CEO of CAF - Latin American development bank, and Guillermo Fernández de Soto, president of the Colombian Council of International Relations (CORI).

The agreement is based on the shared vision of the two institutions which is to favor regional integration and a joint external projection with a view to promoting the sustainable development of Latin American countries.

As a first concrete action for launching the agreement, the two institutions agreed to execute the project "Participation in the Asia-Pacific: Multilateral Scenarios and Bilateral Relations of Interest for Latin America and Colombia,” funded by CAF.

"The performance and dynamism of the Asia-Pacific region has in recent years restructured the economic map of international trade, and we are convinced of the importance for Latin America of building and deepening diplomatic and economic ties with that region," García said.

Although the studies will be regional in scope, they will focus on the Colombian situation which, because of its geographical position, is naturally part of the Pacific Basin, a trade arena of great interest for the country.

Former foreign minister Fernández de Soto thanked CAF for its support for this initiative, and said "the need for evaluation of the closer political and economic relations between Colombia and the eastern countries of the Asia Pacific region is felt by many public and private actors in the country, based on market and geopolitical trends in recent years."

CORI is an institution formed by a group of former Colombian foreign ministers, business leaders and academics, with the aim of sponsoring studies and analysis by Colombian civil society of international political, economic and trade relations with a global, regional and national perspective, as well as promoting dialogue between actors and institutions in the international political sphere.