Colombian vice president Angelino Garzon traveled to Europe on Wednesday to promote the passage of a trade agreement with the EU in the European Parliament.
According to the Vice President’s Office, Garzon will travel to Madrid, Geneva and Brussels to meet with senior officials and visit the UN and EU headquarters.
On Thursday, Garzon will attend the “Leadership Summit for Social Cohesion in Latin America” hosted by the International Foundation for Iberoamerica Management and Public Policy. The vice president of Bolivia, and deputy prime minister of Spain will also be in attendance.
Colombia and Peru recently signed a trade agreement with Europe in May, but the agreement is awaiting approval by the Colombian Congress and European Parliament.
The vice president will meet with European and Spanish parliamentarians, Spanish labor unions, academics, UN representatives, and other officials.
In addition to trade, Garzon will discuss human rights issues, and has an appointment with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Garzon sees human rights and trade as interconnected, “We are working for Colombia to ensure full respect for human rights and we want to, once approved by the Trade Agreement with the European Union, to form a Commission to Monitor the clause on the protection of human, labor and environmental rights because what we want is that parallel trade agreements also have a policy of respect for human rights.”
The EU is Colombia’s second largest trading partner, with $4.7 billion in exports and $5.1 billion in imports.