Colombia to boost trade, economic cooperation with UAE

Colombia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) initiated Monday the first joint cooperation committee in Bogota, seeking to strengthen relations and boost bilateral trade.

The decision was made at a high-level meeting between Colombia's Deputy Foreign Minister Minister for Multilateral Affairs, Francisco Echeverri, and the UAE Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Khalid Ghanim Al Gaith.

Officials of both sides expressed their willingness to "establish measures to encourage commercial interest between the two countries" in order to expand their economic, trade and investment relations.

Colombia expects to diversify its exports as the falling international oil price is shaking the country's economy and a stronger U.S. dollar has pushed up the costs of imports.

Colombia's exports reported a shocking decrease of 34.9 percent in 2015 mainly due to the dwindling sales of fuel products, and it is now seeking to expand its income from different commercial partners to boost an economy that needs to fund the post-conflict rebuilding.

The working session also addressed topics such as infrastructure, water and sanitation, renewable energy, agriculture, culture and security, among others, in the framework of an official visit by UAE's Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Endi