Under the auspices of the two presidents three new agreements were signed covering trade, aviation and innovation
President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres:
"Your visit in our country will provide fresh impetus to the relations and cooperation in the fields of security, science, technology and agriculture"
President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon:
When we look at Israel we know the path to economic stability is through innovation.
The President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres hosted an official state welcome ceremony for the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, this morning at his official residence in Jerusalem. The President of Colombia is visiting Israel with a delegation of senior business leaders and government ministers including the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism. The business leaders, including the owner of the largest tourism company in Colombia, arrived in Israel seeking investment opportunities and increased cooperation.
President Peres and President Santos inspected an honor guard and delivered speeches at the welcome ceremony. President Peres began and welcomed the President of Colombia to Israel, "I welcome you here as an important and influential leader of Latin America. We know how hard it is to fight terror and how terror divides the nation. I congratulate you for finding a way to unite the country. You are a true friend of Israel and your visit in country will provide fresh impetus to the relations and cooperation in the fields of security, science, technology and agriculture. Israel will be more than happy to assist Colombia and provide any knowledge that we can to help develop the Colombian economy."
The President of Colombia thanked President Peres for his welcome and said that Colombia is facing serious challenges with respect to terror and war. He added that when looking at Israel he knows the way to economic stability is through a strong economy and innovation. He concluded that he was in Israel on behalf of the 47 million citizens of Colombia who wished to express their deep sense of friendship to Israel.
Following the meeting between the two presidents a ceremony took place during which three new agreements between Israel and Colombia were signed – a free trade agreement, an innovation agreement and an aviation agreement.
