U.S. President Barack Obama will visit Colombia on his next Latin
American trip, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe announced after
speaking with his U.S. counterpart at the Americas summit in Trinidad
& Tobago.
“President Obama told me that on his next trip to Latin America he will visit Colombia,” Uribe said Saturday, adding there was no time set for the trip.
According to the Colombian President, Obama expressed his desire to maintain a “direct dialogue” based on mutual respect with Latin America, who described the talk he and other Latin American leaders had with Obama as “very useful” and “cordial”.
The Saturday meeting was the first time Uribe and Obama met in person.
Earlier Saturday, Colombia’s Trade Minister, Luis Guillermo Plata, told reporters talks about the pending free trade agreement between the two countries had begun. Colombia has been lobbying this trade pact, but found it stranded in U.S. Congress because of the labor rights situation in the country.