State Secretary for Political Affairs Zdravka Bušić 30 October 2017 in Bogota met with Colombia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Patti Londoño Jaramillo and held political consultations. The meeting discussed Colombia and Croatia’s bilateral relations, bi-regional cooperation between the EU and Latin America’s regional multilateral organizations (Pacific Alliance, EU-CELAC), as well as bilateral economic relations.
Apart from Bušić, the consultations were also attended by Croatia’s non-residential ambassador to Colombia Željko Vukosav, Croatian Chamber of Economy’s Deputy Chairman for International Affairs Želimir Kramarić and Croatian Mine Action Centre’s Head of Quality Control and Accreditation Department Davor Laura.
The Colombian delegation, apart from Londoño, also included Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs Adriana Mendoza, Director of the Office for Post-Conflict Affairs of the Government of Colombia Gloria Ospina, as well as Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Director-General for International Development Cooperation Maria Andrea Alban and Director-General for Culture Santiago Jara.
The Colombian side expressed strong interest in advancing cooperation with Croatia, with an emphasis on the exchange of experience in post-conflict issues (mine action, psychosocial assistance for victims of war, forensic DNA analysis), economic relations (bilateral as well as through the inclusion of the Croatian business community into the working bodies of the Pacific Alliance), as well as in the fields of science and education through university networking.
As part of their visit to Colombia, the Croatian delegation will also meet with representatives of Colombian economic institutions, Croatian companies operating in Colombia and the local Croatian expat community.