U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa will discuss Colombia’s military bases pact with the U.S. when the North American official visits Quito next Tuesday.
Correa said he will raise the issue of security when he meets with Clinton because “the whole region is concerned about the seven North American bases in Colombia.”
“We wouldn’t want the region to become the new Middle East. So we are going to speak very clearly about this,” Correa said.
After meeting with Correa, Clinton will travel to Bogota to meet with Colombia President Alvaro Uribe.
Clinton will be the first minister of the Barack Obama administration to visit Colombia.
Colombia increased regional tensions after the it signed signed a controversial agreement with the U.S., granting the North American nation access to seven military bases. Both Ecuador and Venezuela have called the pact a threat to regional sovereignty.