Colombia optimistic about Korea FTA

Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin remains optimistic about the free trade agreement with Korea despite protests from the automobile industry.

During a press meeting at the Embassy of Colombia on Wednesday, Holguin said that she was happy to inform the Korean media that the Colombian parliament approved the trade pact on Dec. 16.

"I am happy to let you know that our parliament ratified the pact," she told reporters.

Despite the parliamentary ratification, it will take time for the Korea-Colombia FTA to take effect as there remains one more step the trade pact has to go through. The constitutional court of the Latin American country will now review it before it goes into effect.

Holguin said she believes the process will be completed in a few months time.

Korea and Colombia clinched the free trade pact in 2013. The trade agreement will go into effect once the two countries complete domestic process.

The Korea-Colombia FTA was approved in the National Assembly of Korea in April last year.

In Colombia, the ratification of the pact met challenges due to the backlash from the people in the auto and electronics industries.

Colombian Foreign Minister Holguin remained optimistic despite the backlash, noting that Korean cars are already imported without tariffs as Colombia's FTAs with Mexico and the United States took effect and Korean vehicles are imported through these countries.

Once the Colombian government ends the decades-long civil war by signing a ceasefire deal with rebels this year or in the near future, she said, Colombia will be able to achieve progress in technologies, agriculture and other areas based on stability.

Holguin met reporters hours before she had a meeting with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at the foreign ministry building in Seoul.

During the meeting, Yun called Colombia a true friend of Korea and mentioned its sending troops to South Korea during the Korean War.

The Korean foreign minister expressed hope that the two countries continue to work closely in the future as they did in the past.

In recent years, bilateral relations have been expanded. The number of Korean companies operating in Colombia has risen to 37 from 14 three years ago.

The two sides signed nearly 40 memoranda of understanding in the areas of customs, agriculture and other areas.

Foreign Minister Yun requested the Colombian government to consider Korean companies to undertake the state-led infrastructure building projects in the Latin American country.

The Colombian foreign minister said Korea's development assistance for her country helped it a lot in achieving socioeconomic development and expressed hope to continue to work with the Korean government in that regard.

Source: The Korea Times