Pedro Sánchez strengthened everything he could on Wednesday, in a day in Bogotá during the first day of his American tour, his relationship with the new president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, the first leftist elected by the citizens of that country. The head of the Spanish Executive, in several speeches and even an interview with the radio station Radio W Colombia, was full of praise for the new president, praising, among other things, that he was presiding over the first joint cabinet in Colombian history. A praise that he expressed noting that he himself presides over a government with 60% women and in portfolios, he said, of great relevance.
In addition, and with an eye on the immediate future, Sánchez expressed his commitment that during the semester of the Spanish rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), which will take place in the second half of 2023, predictably coinciding with the end of his term , a summit between the community countries and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, arises, a meeting that, presumably, will be "very beneficial for the two regions." It is about doing something similar to what the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, carried out during his corresponding semester, the first of this year 2022, with the African Union.
But in addition, and apart from the community partners, Sánchez offered our country to host the pending negotiations between the Colombian government and the terrorists of the National Liberation Army (ELN). He did so after qualifying, in the aforementioned radio interview, the peace agreement signed with the FARC five years ago as a "milestone".
Shortly after, there is in the joint press conference with Petro, the host partially cooled the offer, he thanked him so well and was satisfied with it. However, he made it clear that it will be the parties that will have to accept, eventually, he will arrive in Spain to settle their differences. At first, as the Colombian president stated, the venue he designated was Ecuador and later, Cuba. And it happens that the ELN has not given any communication in this regard for four years, which Petro himself admitted "harms the rhythms of the process."
Sánchez, for his part, was very respectful of the fact that he could finally decide, but defended his proposal by appealing to the "great Spanish tradition" in this type of initiative. In addition, he went on to assure that the peace agreement signed five years ago by the then president, Juan Manuel Santos, with the FARC, the terrorist group that operated for decades on Colombian soil, is one of the "little news to celebrate" on the international scene. In the last decade.
Petro, for his part, explained his aspiration that this process go further and transcend the ELN. Or, in addition to his own words, he called for "not sectorizing the process but opening it up, due to its complexity." A reference to the rest of the terrorist guerrillas and the paramilitary forces.
investment opportunities
The presidential delegation, in whose detachment the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, is one of the businessmen exploring the possibilities of negotiation in one of the largest countries in South America. Sánchez addressed them in a speech prior to his press conference with Petro, in which he stressed that "the Ibero-American community can contribute a lot in the field of energy transition" or, he specified, in "the digital rights card".
He also highlighted the importance of the reform of the bilateral investment agreement signed a year ago. And to convince the leaders of important Spanish companies of the suitability of President Petro for all this type of economic bets, he recounted how in his first meeting in Madrid, he was impressed "by his commitment to the energy transition and the fight against change climate".
The intention of the Moncloa economic team is for Spain to be the "spearhead" in trade relations with Colombia
The intention that sources from La Moncloa have been stating for days is that in the face of the new political situation with the left-wing government in that country, Europe will not be left behind in terms of trade relations, given that other actors such as China or Russia could also take advantage of their influence in that geographical area. And for this nothing better, estimate, that our country is the "spearhead" of that movement.
Therefore, the joint declaration between both countries called, as Sánchez and Petro explained during their press conference, the climate crisis, "one of the issues that Colombia wants to put as a topic of discussion on the world stage," confirmed Petro. He also called it “gender equality”, in an “effort”, said Petro, that “women reach full equality”.
Relations with Europe
The president of Colombia also emphasized the need to hold that summit between CELAC and the EU just within a year, when Sánchez will be the European president in turn and faces what could be his last months in La Moncloa, if he does not manage to retain the power in the next general election. For Petro, this summit serves to make a "great conference between two worlds that have dramatic relations, sometimes, but that must be cordial."
Sánchez's tour will continue through Ecuador and Honduras, countries that are officially visiting Spanish President José María Aznar again. In Honduras it will be seen, as in the case of Petro, with a left-wing ruler, Xiomara Castro, and in Ecuador with the curator Guillermo Lasso, with Moncloa he claims to have good relations, also given the large community of that country that lives in Spain. .
Precisely migration issues are having great importance in each of the stages of the journey. Pedro Sánchez concluded his visit to Bogotá this Wednesday with a meeting with the Spanish community. Meanwhile, with the Honduran president, he will sign a pilot project for workers from that country to travel to the Peninsula to work on campaigns to collect agricultural products, and later he will return to Honduras. Sánchez will also meet with several Spanish NGOs that carry out cooperation projects in that country.
