Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sees the vow of his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to “strengthen trade relations” with with his country as a sign that the U.S. has confidence in Colombia.
Uribe, who is currently in Davos, Switzerland, for the annual World Economic Forum, said that “to us, the speech of President Obama last night should be understood as a sign of confidence in Colombia. And it should be understood like that by the domestic and international economic community.”
The Colombian president told press that Obama, in order to create high-quality jobs, will need to amplify his country’s access to international markets like that of Colombia.
Uribe added that he was hopeful Obama will soon pave the way to the congressional ratification of the free trade pact that was signed by Colombia and the previous U.S. administration.
Obama, speaking before U.S. Congress for his first State of the Union address, did not mention the stalled free trade pact, but said he hoped to double U.S. exports within five years. This could partially be achieved by strengthening commercial relations with Colombia, the U.S. head of state said.