Among the various points on the agenda during his official visit to Sweden, the president took advantage of this Thursday morning to meet with the Colombian ambassadors in the European countries with which Colombia has relations. The meeting was at the traditional Berns Hotel in Stockholm, and there each of the 26 ambassadors listened to the president and at the same time went to the board to talk about what his efforts have been in these almost two years of government.
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Trade, climate change, agribusiness, tourism and human rights were the topics that the President touched on with his diplomatic corps in Europe. It was after this introduction that each of the diplomats went on to give an account of what they have carried out.
Spain and a possible request regarding the Eln
Eduardo Ávila Navarrete, ambassador to the kingdom of Spain, announced in this space that progress has been made in the study of a request for the ELN to be removed from the list of terrorist groups of the European Union. This point is part of the ‘total peace’ dialogues and the intention to consolidate a multi-donor fund to support this group. Ávila highlighted his efforts to ensure that Cartagena de Indias hosts the assembly of the World Tourism Council and the financial support of Spain to carry out basic sanitation issues in Nariño, Cauca, Antioquia and the Caribbean.
Sweden: a new Procolombia headquarters
Ambassador Guillermo Reyes highlighted that within the framework of the presidential visit and the 150 years of relationship between both countries, a Procolombia office will be opened in Sweden, with the aim of promoting tourism and trade. He then spoke of the support that the Scandinavian country has given to ‘total peace’ and the arrival of Swedish companies to the country. There are around 120 of them and they currently employ around 25,000 Colombians.
United Kingdom and the growth of tourism
Roy Barreras highlighted in his speech that the arrival of British tourists has increased by 100 percent, in 2023 50,000 will arrive. He also celebrated that a preCOP will be held to promote COP 16 that will take place in Cali in October.
France: extradition, Olympic games and loans
Former Minister of the Interior Alfonso Prada gave a detailed report that included the efforts to advance an extradition agreement so that French citizens can be sent to Colombia to appear before justice. Likewise, he highlighted the memorandum of understanding on feminist foreign policy, which must be endorsed by the foreign ministries of both countries at the meeting before the United Nations.
He also celebrated that a loan for 200 million euros was obtained from the French Agency for Development to finance the comprehensive rural reform, consigned at the point of the peace agreement with the extinct FARC. Prada included as one of its achievements that the direct Bogotá-Paris route was opened for Avianca, right within the framework of the Paris Olympic Games. Precisely for these fairs, a Casa Colombia has been set aside in the French capital to promote the country.
Norway and the fight against climate change
Narda Paola Bernal, ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, pointed out as one of the achievements of her administration the support of the Nordic country in the fight against deforestation, a five-year renewal agreement. Along these lines, she highlighted the support that this government will give to COP16 and the participation of the Ministers of Environment (Susana Muhamad) and Agriculture (Jennifer Mojica) in the Oslo tropical forest forum, which will take place at the end of June. Under the same theme, she highlighted that Norwegian companies will invest 100 million dollars to increase fertilizer production and reduce the carbon footprint by up to 500 tons.
Türkiye: new market for coffee
The ambassador in the country with territories in Europe and Asia, Julio Aníbal Riaño, highlighted as his main achievements the signing of five memorandums of understanding between Colombia and Turkey and the opening of 21 Juan Valdez stores in said country – a total of fifty-.
Ireland: implementation aid
Miguel Camilo Ruiz, ambassador to Ireland, pointed out as the most important part of his administration the commitment of five million euros to support the implementation of the peace agreements with the extinct FARC.
Denmark and the energy transition
Javier Darío Higuera cited among the achievements of his management a bilateral agreement for the growth of green activities, signed in October 2023. In this sense, he highlighted that in the coming months five Danish companies will begin operating for the production of wind energy in La Guajira. .
