Marta Lucia Ramírez will make a diplomatic visit to Turkey

In order to strengthen political and cultural relations, Vice President and Chancellor Marta Lucia Ramírez will develop a work agenda in Turkey on April 1 and 2. The official will meet in Ankara, the Turkish capital, with her counterparts Fuat Oktay and Mevlüt Çavuşoğluy, the country's vice-president and foreign minister, respectively. It was indicated that they mainly discussed issues related to strengthening investment opportunities and promoting business linkages

Likewise, the Vice President and Foreign Minister will hold a meeting with the representatives of the Colombian community residing in Istanbul and with the Honorary Consul in that city.

It should be noted that Colombia and Turkey have had relations for more than 60 years. During this time, both countries have shared an interest in different areas of cooperation, materialized in initiatives mainly in entrepreneurship, agriculture, science, health, technology and innovation. In addition, Turkish companies operating in Colombia are related to the tourism, aeronautics, communications, mining and metals sectors, among others.

Thanks to this work, the trade balance between Colombia and Turkey has maintained a surplus trend in the last 5 years. In 2021, it reached a surplus of 860.6 million dollars, 26% higher than in 2020. Likewise, Colombian exports to Turkey totaled $1.27 billion in 2021, 39% more than in 2020.

The last time the Vice President and Chancellor was on a diplomatic mission was on March 10, when she accompanied President Ivan Duque to meet Joe Biden at the White House (Washington D.C., United States). At that meeting, officials addressed important issues related to safety, migration and health.

Faced with these points, Biden confirmed that he appointed Colombia as the main ally outside NATO, which means that the South American country will become a key partner of the 29 nations that make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, rather than a member of that alliance.

It should be noted that this procedure is already underway, because prior to the meeting with Duque, Biden sent a notification to the US Congress with his intention to designate Colombia in this category. It is worth mentioning that so far only 17 other countries have this category, including two South Americans: Argentina and Brazil.

On health issues, Biden confirmed that the United States will donate more anti-covid-19 vaccines to Colombia. He indicated that a batch with two million biological products will be sent, but it is pending confirmation of the date of receipt and the laboratory that produced them.

With regard to the environment, an important issue for Colombia considering the commitments it has made, the governments of both countries confirmed that Duque and Biden spoke about partnerships to achieve the energy transition with Ecopetrol.

Finally, migration was also a key topic at the meeting. The United States announced that it will soon agree on a new immigration plan for the region. The initiative would take place within the framework of the Summit of the Americas to be held in Los Angeles (California, United States) in June of this year. There it is hoped to consolidate a route to seek resources for the countries most in need.

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