Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced a broad overhaul of the country's diplomatic structure. As of his inauguration, on August 7, at least 14 embassies and around 15 consulates must be closed.
President-elect of Colombia announces closure of 14 embassies
Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, announced a broad overhaul of the country's diplomatic structure. As of his inauguration, on August 7, at least 14 embassies and around 15 consulates must be closed....
The list includes Colombian representations in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Romania, Senegal and South Africa. The future government will also suspend the process of opening an embassy in Palestine.
According to De la Espriella, the closure of the units will not mean the automatic severing of diplomatic relations with the affected countries. The exceptions will be Cuba and Nicaragua, governments he classifies as “tyrannies” with which his administration does not intend to maintain ties.
Colombians living in places affected by the change will continue to receive consular assistance through embassies located in nearby countries. The proposal, according to the president-elect, is to reduce structures considered inefficient and redirect Colombia's international operations.
One of the main changes will be the resumption of relations with Israel. De la Espriella intends to reopen the Colombian embassy in the country and establish it in Jerusalem, fulfilling a promise made during the election campaign. The reestablishment of diplomatic ties should occur after the new government takes office.
The reorganization also foresees the opening of a diplomatic mission in Nigeria, which will concentrate part of Colombia's operations on the African continent.
Some representations will be unified to avoid duplication of functions. In Paris, a single ambassador will be responsible for the mission in France and representation at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. The same model will be adopted in Rome, where the embassies in Italy and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, will be under a single command.
In the first 100 days of government, De la Espriella intends to carry out a technical audit of the other diplomatic units to assess costs, results and the need to maintain each representation.
The president-elect stated that the resources saved will be allocated to areas such as security, health, education and infrastructure.
“Every peso we save on bureaucracy will be a weight that we can invest in security, health, education, infrastructure and, above all, in opportunities for the poorest”, he declared.
De la Espriella maintains that his government's foreign policy will be aimed at attracting investment, opening markets and defending Colombia's commercial interests abroad.
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Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Mundo
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