Home > Foreign relations of Colombia
Colombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems.In 1969, it formed what is now the Andean Community along with Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru ( Venezuela joined in 1973, and Chile left in 1976).
In the 1980s, Colombia broadened its bilateral and multilateral relations, joining the Contadora Group, the Group of Eight (now the Rio Group), and the Non-Aligned Movement, which it chaired from 1994 until September 1998. In addition, it has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela.
Colombia has traditionally played an active role in the United Nations and the Organization of American States and in their subsidiary agencies. Former President Cesar Gaviria became Secretary General of the OAS in September 1994 and was reelected in 1999. Colombia was a participant in the December 1994 and April 1998 Summits of the Americas and followed up on initiatives developed at the summit by hosting two post-summit, ministerial-level meetings on trade and science and technology.
Colombia regularly participates in international fora, including CICAD, the Organization of American States' body on money launderingMoney laundering is the practice of engaging in financial transactions in order to conceal the identity, source and destination of the money in question. In the past, the term "money laundering" was applied only to financial transactions related to otherw, chemical controls, and drug abuse prevention. Although the Colombian Government ratified the 1988 UN Convention on Narcotics in 1994 -- the last of the Andean governments to do so--it took important reservations, notably to the anti-money-laundering measures, asset forfeiture and confiscation provisions, maritime interdiction, and extradition clauses. Colombia subsequently withdrew some of its reservations, most notably a reservation on extradition.
1 Disputes - international
Maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial disputes with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
2 Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cocaCoca Leaves of the coca plant. Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Erythroxylaceae Genus Erythroxylon Species coca Binomial name Erythroxylon coca Coca Erythroxylon coca is a, opiumOpium is a narcotic drug which is obtained from the unripe seed pods of the opium poppy Papaver somniferum L. or the synonym paeoniflorum . To harvest opium, the skin of the ripening pods is scored by a sharp blade. The slashes exude a white, milky latex, poppies, and cannabissee text Cannabis is a genus of dioecious, annual herbs that belong to the family Cannabaceae, which was formerly placed with the nettles in the order Urticales, but is now in the order Rosales. There is phylogenetic controversy as to whether the cultivat:
- world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 1998 - 1015 kmē, a 28% increase over 1997)
- cultivation of opium in 1998 remained steady at 66 kmē; potential production of opium in 1997 - 66 metric tonFor ton as a unit of volume see Ton (volume There are three similar units of mass called the ton or tonne tonne ( SI) or metric ton 1000 kg (2204 lb). The official symbol is t but mT and T are also used. short ton (or simply ton in casual use in the USA)s, a 5% increase over 1996;
- the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaineCocaine is a crystalline alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant, creating a euphoric sense of happiness and hyperthermia. Though most often used recreational; supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug markets, and an important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program
