Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin will present the foreign policy plans of the new government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos to Colombian Congress on Tuesday.
Colombian publication Semana was privy to information Holguin sent to Congress regarding her presentation, which will reportedly focus on the normalization of relations with neighboring countries, greater integration in the region, and the strengthening of regional body UNASUR.
According to Semana, the Santos administration will prioritize relations with its neighboring countries, as well as ties with other Latin American and Caribbean nations, rather than with the U.S. Strengthening UNASUR will be a method for Colombia to develop better regional ties.
Semana also reports that foreign policy will focus on “geographic and thematic diversification of the foreign policy agenda in order to promote the nation’s interests and open up opportunities for investors, industrialists and businessmen in our country.”
As has already been demonstrated during the first few weeks of the Santos administration, normalizing ties with Ecuador and Venezuela will be a priority achieved through “direct, frank institutional dialogue and the creation of trust as an imperative.”
Another priority will be political, economic and social support to the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, which was crippled following a devastating earthquake in January.