The U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith A. McHale, began a four-day official visit to Colombia on Sunday, in what is the secretary’s first visit to the Andean nation.
McHale was in Cali Monday where she delivered a keynote address to the Association of Binational Centers of Latin America (ABLA) Conference.
The under secretary will also speak to a regional conference of the Department of State’s Cultural Affairs Officers, before meeting with recipients of the Martin Luther King (MLK) English Language Fellows Program.
The MLK program was set up “to expanding [sic] access for Afro-Colombian and indigenous minority youth to academic and economic opportunities … and promote their economic and social empowerment,” according to the U.S. embassy.
McHale will discuss the experiences of the MLK fellows before heading on to Bogota “for meetings and activities related to public diplomacy programs that contribute to the U.S.-Colombia bilateral relationship.”