According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the high-ranking official and the delegation accompanying him discussed the expansion of the bilateral relationship and the deepening of the cultural sphere.

Murillo added that the discussion also focused on the work initiated to prepare the agreement that will allow the inclusion of Colombia in the Belt and Road initiative, which will take the relationship to another level, he said.

In the meeting, he said, we raised the need to attract investments for the socio-ecological transition plan that the Government has just formulated for 40 billion dollars, and we also discussed a broad package of cultural exchanges between the two peoples.

Regarding the Asian giant’s Belt and Road initiative, he said that it involves more than 150 countries, many of them in Latin America, and that it offers potential for growth in terms of development, investments, trade and cultural exchange.

Regarding the South American nation’s adhesion to it, he revealed that a joint group was created with around 18 institutions from Colombia and a similar number from the Asian giant, who are currently working on the details of the agreement and that once these issues are finalized, the presidents will sign it.

“It was a very productive meeting and we hope that these meetings continue to take place with high-level officials from both the Colombian government who will be visiting the People’s Republic of China and from China to Colombia. It is a good indicator of how we are expanding and deepening this relationship,” he said.

He also stressed that President Gustavo Petro’s indication is to deepen relations with other peoples of the south, and emphasized that the country defends an independent foreign policy, while diversifying its relations to benefit Colombian society.

ef/rgh/ifs