Minister Pusić continued her official visit to Colombia, meeting with her Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Cuellar for talks on strengthening bilateral, political and economic cooperation, as well as the EU-Colombian relations.
During this first ever visit of a senior Croatian official to Colombia since the establishment of bilateral relations, Pusić recalled that relations between the two countries began on the margins of an EU summit with Latin America held in Chile in 2013, which continued with Cuellar's visit to Croatia last year.
“This is my reciprocal visit. Croatia and Colombia have been cooperating for more than five years in mine clearance projects, and the Croatian Mine Action Centre (CROMAC) is discussing additional projects in Colombia after forty years of internal conflict in the country,” Pusić said. She added that Colombia was a strategic partner to Croatia and a selected point in Latin America with regard to the economy but also with regard to cooperation in post-conflict normalization and development aid. One of the main topics discussed was the compilation of a list of bilateral agreements that will facilitate doing business for our businesses, some of which are already present in Columbia, but also for Colombian businesses to do business in Croatia.
“I would like to use this opportunity to once again thank Colombia and FM Cuellar for the start of a new and promising cooperation between our countries,” Pusić said.
Cuellar noted that in the wake of the conflict that Columbia had experienced, Croatia could be a great ally, underlining Croatia’s experiences in mine clearance. She also expressed a wish that the two countries found ways to cooperate through partnership for development within the Free Trade Agreement.