U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife to travel to Colombia for talks with President Juan Manuel Santos, the White House said Thursday.
The leaders will meet to discuss bilateral and regional issues including security relations and ways to further the prosperity between the two nations which in 2012 implemented a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
Biden’s visit, scheduled for the week of May 26, will also stop in Brazil and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago to discuss similar topics related to the affairs of the hemispheric region.
On Wednesday, the vice president spoke at the 2013 Washington Conference on the Americas, where he showed great emphasis on furthering relations in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
“It’s time, the president [Obama] and I believe, to seek a much deeper engagement within the western hemisphere,” Biden stated. He then added, “The Western Hemisphere has always mattered to the United States, but I think it matters more today because it has more potential than any time in American history.”
During Biden’s travels, President Barack Obama will host leaders from Chile and Peru in Washington.