The CIC and CCA Welcome Colombia’s President

Until recently, Canada occupied little of Colombia’s attention. Instead, the second-largest country in South America obsessed over its internal security crisis and, during the rare moments when it looked beyond its borders, the United States monopolized its gaze.

This all changed a few months ago, when the $1.14 billion Canada-Colombia free-trade agreement came into effect. Canada beat the United States to the chase, and its efforts did not go unnoticed. Last week, in the wake of the historical treaty, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos visited Canada to accept his “Statesman of the Year” award from the Canadian Council for the Americas at an event sponsored by the Canadian International Council.

“We are living in a new era,” the president began. Reflecting on growth of four per cent, a boom in foreign direct investment, and ongoing free-trade negotiations with the European Union, the U.S., and other major markets, the president relayed a story of optimism and promise to his Canadian audience. He portrayed Colombia as a state whose experiences in security offer distinct value to the international community, and for whom the free-trade agreement with Canada represents an auspicious beginning to a future of ambitious aspirations, including Security Council and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development membership.

Still, Santos admitted, “We’re not paradise yet.”

To further probe the gap between Colombia’s capabilities and its intentions, the CIC speaks to professor Arlene Tickner of the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá. Reflecting on the domestic political climate, and particularly the tensions between Santos and his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, Tickner elaborates on the domestic factors driving Santos’ foreign policy impulse.

Completing this profile of Canada-Colombia relations, Stephen Randall, author of several books on Colombia’s relations with North America, tells the Canadian story. He describes the reasons for Canada’s acute interest in Colombia, and fleshes out the strains that exist between Canada’s economic and human-rights priorities.

Canada’s free-trade agreement with Colombia, following on the heels of similar deals with Peru and Chile, symbolizes a new direction for Canadian international trade policy. Canada’s reinvigorated orientation toward Latin America is exciting, but it is also very new: The challenges facing these countries and their relations with Canada are very different from those to which Canada is accustomed. Canada has much to learn, and President Santos’ visit to Canada is a valuable first tutorial.

Photo courtesy Reuters.