Colombia’s Labor Minister traveled to Washington Monday for a week of meetings with U.S. government officials, to ensure the Colombia-U.S. Free Trade Agreement action plan stays on track.
Rafael Pardo will meet with economic experts of the National Security Council, members of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), U.S. congressmen and NGO representatives during the week-long trip.
In a statement released by Pardo Monday, he reported that he would be accompanied on his visit by Deputy Minister of Labour Relations David Moon, and new Director of Inspection, Monitoring, Control and Territorial Management Patricia Marulanda.
The visit will include a meeting with U.S. Democratic Congressman Sander Levin, one of the most outspoken opponents of the FTA, who visited Colombia last year. The agreement was ratified in October 2011 after long delays related to concerns about human rights violation in Colombia.
An important scheduled event during the trip is a meeting with U.S. Sub-Secretary of Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights Maria Otero, who recently visited Colombia to discuss the killing of trade unionists.
The Colombian delegates will end their tour by meeting with the Inter-American Dialogue, a U.S. think tank for policy analysis, exchange and communication, who have invited the government officials to discuss the FTA.