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After years of human rights abuses, drug trafficking and armed conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia is back, says its ambassador to Canada.
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• Saskatoon StarPhoenix SASKATOON, SASK.-NOV. 25 2015 – Colombian Ambassador to Canada Nicolas Lloreda answers reporter Alex MacPherson’s questions at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. Photo by Richard Marjan /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
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After years of human rights abuses, drug trafficking and armed conflict between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia is back, says its ambassador to Canada.
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Rapid economic growth, infrastructure investments, increasing tourism, increased foreign trade and new solutions to social problems have made Colombia the wealthiest country in the region, said Nicolás Lloreda, a former lawyer who was appointed to the diplomatic office in 2013.
Now the Latin American nation is trying to repair its image overseas and fuel its agriculture and resource-dependent economy with foreign investment, technology and ideas. Although the challenges lie ahead, Colombia is experiencing massive change, said Lloreda.
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix sat down with Lloreda this week to discuss what they call “the best century” in Colombian history. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What is the purpose of your visit to Saskatchewan?
A: I have tried to visit as many provinces as possible with which we have commercial relations. And in the case of Saskatchewan … they have a little over a million people and export $ 35 billion in products. It’s a very open and trade-oriented province, and that’s very interesting. But the most interesting part for us, even though it’s very rich in terms of natural resources, is what Saskatchewan has done in value-added services around these industries.
Q: Canadian companies invested about $ 2 billion in Colombia last year and trade is well over $ 500 million, but many people have a very different perception of Colombia.
A: In Canada, in the United States, in Europe and in many other places, many of them who do not follow foreign policy very closely, after hearing about Colombia, have a very negative perception of Colombia. You think of drug trafficking, Pablo Escobar, the Medellin cartel. It is much less known, but it will be very interesting news, the transformation that has taken place in Colombia, especially in the last 15 years.
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Q: What kind of transformation?
A: Colombia now has the best economic and social indicators it has ever had in its history. I always remember that in 2000, 35 percent of our population was middle class, and today it’s over 60. For the first time in our history, the majority of our population is middle class … And the reason it happened, because over 10 years with one Growth of 4.5 percent per year, we have doubled the size of our middle class. This 4.5 percent was the (result) of an orthodox economic policy, but it was also very well thought-out social spending.
Q: Will the historic peace negotiations with the FARC help?
A: So I’m very optimistic (that the three-year peace negotiations should conclude by the end of the first quarter, by the end of March) and it is estimated that the peace process will bring Colombia another 1.5 or two GDP growth points per year. So again, for a combination of reasons – the fact that security costs will come down, the fact that interest in the land is growing – all of this is a big part of my President and my administration’s planning.
Q: That sounds like a great opportunity.
A: The progress, the progress in Colombia over the past 15 years is amazing. (But) we still have some serious challenges. We need to get more people into the middle class. We need to make our minorities … middle class. Reconciliation with the guerrillas. And people in Colombia who think differently. Colombians need to change part of their chip, I think their inner mental chip, to really live in a society where all issues should be debated and discussed.
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Q: What can Colombia offer Canada economically?
A: I think we should be able to get a boost on some of our industrial products. Although we sell coal and coffee to Canada, and flowers – we’re the second largest flower producer in the world – there are many other things. Textiles, for example. Even if we sell textiles and clothing, not enough – there is a huge void in which we could sell. We sell auto parts, we sell some industrial products, but not enough.
Q: Your country is not a member of the Trans Pacific Partnership. Is that a concern?
A: I think Colombia is a free trade country. We are very open. Canada is also a trading country. It’s very open. So this will go on. Canada (may) decide to approve the TPP. … What we must of course get from Canada and what we will strive for from Canada is to enable Colombia to use the contributions of Canada’s other partners. Because if we fail to do that, we can be excluded from the market.
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