U.S. president Barack Obama on Thursday called to congratulate Colombian President-elect Juan Manuel Santos for his victory in Sunday’s election.
In their call, Obama and Santos “discussed their shared desire to deepen the strong relationship between the United States and Colombia across a wide range of bilateral, hemispheric, and global issues,” the White House said in a statement.
After the good wishes for Santos’ new term, Obama reportedly switched the subject of the conversation to basketball, and asked Santos about his favorite U.S. teams.
During the phone call, Obama also mentioned that he remembered that Santos had studied in the United States.
Then, after inviting Santos to visit him in Washington, Obama passed the phone to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who also congratulated the Colombian president-elect on his recent victory, Colombian media reported.
Clinton told Santos that he had her total support, and that the House of Representatives in the United States had passed a non-binding voice vote resolution in support of the newly elected president of Colombia.
The call came during a meeting Santos was having with ex-presidential candidate Gustavo Petro.