The President of Colombia was received with an official ceremony at the President's Residence in which both nations' anthems were played and the two leaders inspected an IDF honor guard. Afterwards, they holded a diplomatic working meeting and made statements to the press
President Isaac Herzog: “Like Israel, I know that Colombia is concerned about Iran and Hezbollah’s terror cells being established on your border with Venezuela. From many years of experience, it is clear that these forces must be stopped swiftly—if not a minute sooner.”
Today, President Isaac Herzog hosted an official welcoming ceremony for President Iván Duque Márquez of the Republic of Colombia during his state visit in Israel. President Isaac Herzog and President Duque reviewed an Israeli Navy honor guard at the President’s Residence, and the IDF Band played both nations’ anthems. The two leaders held a diplomatic working meeting in which they discussed opportunities for Israel and Colombia to collaborate on environmental technologies and investments to promote green energy and sustainability. Afterwards, they delivered statements to the press.
President Isaac Herzog welcomed President Duque’s leadership on climate issues and advancement of sustainability and environmental technologies and hailed his desire to promote deeper trade ties: “We both want to increase trade between our countries. Therefore, the free trade agreement that you led and was ratified and went into effect in August 2020 marked a welcome high-point in relations between our countries, and I hope that trade will increase and flourish for the benefit of both peoples. Today our countries are partners in each other’s growth: Israeli citizens enjoy Colombian produce, while Colombia enjoys Israeli agricultural technologies.”
President Isaac Herzog welcomed the inauguration of the Colombian trade and innovation office in Jerusalem: “I welcome your inauguration of an innovation office in Jerusalem, the first of its kind outside of Colombia.”
President Isaac Herzog addressed Israeli-Colombian ties in multilateral forums: “I must say that I greatly appreciate your stand in international organizations, standing by Israel’s side in the whole international arena. This is the measure of true friendship. Colombia’s recent admission to the IAEA Board of Governors is a welcome development, and I hope that this important position will enable you to advance a meaningful diplomatic battle against the Iranian nuclear program.”
Finally, President Isaac Herzog addressed the shared terrorist threat: “Like Israel, I know that Colombia is concerned about Iran and Hezbollah’s terror cells being established on your border with Venezuela. From many years of experience, it is clear that these forces must be stopped swiftly—if not a minute sooner.”
President Iván Duque Márquez: “We are at a high point of bilateral relations, expressed in my government’s ratification of a free trade agreement between Israel and Colombia. The importance of this treaty is to attract commerce and investment. We want to triple exports in the next few years. We want to boost connectivity, artificial intelligence, internet of things, agricultural technology and attract more Israeli technology in our country.”
President Duque spoke of the potential for green investments in Colombian carbon credits, saying: “Colombia is a leader in the energy transition in Latin America, in a country that is the second most biodiverse on the planet, with 30% of the territory about to be declared protected by 2022.” He added that Colombia is investing heavily in innovation, saying: “Colombia is on route to become the Silicon Valley of Latin America.”
Joining President Duque’s delegation were senior members of the Colombian cabinet, including: Minister of National Defense Diego Andrés Molano Aponte; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Rodolfo Enrique Zea; Minister of Health and Social Protection, Dr. Fernando Ruiz Gómez; Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism María Ximena Lombana Villalba; Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Carlos Eduardo Correa Escaf, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Javier Echeverri Lara.
Tonight, President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog will host a state dinner at the President’s Residence in honor of President Duque.
Photos credit Silvia G. Golan
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