{"id":236332,"date":"2022-09-06T20:46:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T18:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/colombias-new-left-wing-government-three-opportunities-to-build-stronger-ties-with-africa\/"},"modified":"2022-09-06T20:46:52","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T18:46:52","slug":"colombias-new-left-wing-government-three-opportunities-to-build-stronger-ties-with-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/colombias-new-left-wing-government-three-opportunities-to-build-stronger-ties-with-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia\u2019s new left-wing government: three opportunities to build stronger ties with Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The recent election<\/a> of Colombia\u2019s first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, and first black vice-president, Francia M\u00e1rquez, creates a new opening to revitalise ties with Africa.<\/p>\n

Colombia is often overlooked as a nation of interest because of its reputation for violence<\/a>. Its negative standing results mainly from the decades-long armed conflict between previous governments and the Marxist-Leninist group FARC. The conflict has been linked to the production and export of illicit drugs<\/a>. It ended with the signing of a peace agreement<\/a> in 2016. <\/p>\n

Despite such a reputation, the country is an important regional economic hub. In 2021, its GDP<\/a> was US$315 billion, the third largest in South America, after Brazil and Argentina. The International Monetary Fund predicts<\/a> that the country\u2019s economy will grow at 5.8% in 2022.<\/p>\n

The election of Petro and M\u00e1rquez provides three opportunities for stronger Africa-Colombia relations that can yield mutual benefits. These are Colombia\u2019s cultural and historical ties with Africa, strong trade potential and south-south cooperation.<\/p>\n

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Read more: Colombia: Gustavo Petro and Francia M\u00e1rquez have achieved a historic victory for the left \u2013 so who are they?<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Three opportunities<\/h2>\n

Colombia\u2019s strong African roots<\/strong><\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez is Colombia\u2019s first black woman vice-president. Her election could enhance Afro-Colombians\u2019 consciousness<\/a> of their African ancestry. It\u2019s also an opportunity to diversify Colombia\u2019s foreign policy, by strengthening cultural connections
\nwith African nations.<\/p>\n

The Afro-Colombian community includes 4.7 million<\/a> people, around 10% of Colombia\u2019s population of 51 million<\/a>. They are the descendants of Africans who came to Colombia during the transatlantic slave trade<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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Read more: Book review: how Africa was central to the making of the modern world<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Unlocking the trade potential<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colombia lags considerably behind countries like Brazil in trade and political ties with Africa. Colombia and African nations can better explore and exploit their comparative advantages in goods and services. <\/p>\n

Their trade volumes are still low<\/a>, showing a significant opportunity for new commercial relations. In 2021, Colombia imported around $150 million in goods and services from Africa, only 0.25% of its total imports. Its exports to Africa were around $400 million, only 0.98% of its exports. No African country features among Colombia\u2019s top 30 trading partners. <\/p>\n

In his inaugural speech, Petro said Colombia would seek to build stronger economic alliances with African<\/a> countries. Colombia\u2019s focus on energy, mining and agrifood means that African countries have much to gain from partnerships with it. <\/p>\n

Visa systems on both sides need to be relaxed. South Africa, for example, does not have an embassy in Bogot\u00e1. Its diplomatic relations with Colombia are led by its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. The countries have had a healthy relationship since 1994, but it has often faced difficulties in getting visas. <\/p>\n

Another challenge is related to connectivity between South America and Africa. In the past, most flights between Africa and South America went through S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil. The COVID pandemic reduced the number of flights. By 2022, the only connections between South America and Africa were via Angola or Ethiopia. Avianca<\/a>, Colombia\u2019s national airline, could provide a new route to help improve connectivity. <\/p>\n

Promoting south-south cooperation<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the election campaign and her activist history, M\u00e1rquez often used the African idea of ubuntu<\/a> (humanness) to promote interdependence within (and between) societies. <\/p>\n

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Read more: What Archbishop Tutu’s ubuntu credo teaches the world about justice and harmony<\/a> <\/strong> <\/em>\n<\/p>\n

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Colombia could also look to Africa for lessons, share experiences and identify opportunities to deal with land use and distribution. M\u00e1rquez has presented views that show the importance of dealing with land issues in a way that empowers poor people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Technical cooperation programmes can be essential in realising the potential benefits of interdependence. For instance, Colombia has a long experience in developing public transport systems<\/a>. These have become essential for social integration and environmental sustainability. <\/p>\n

Cities like Medell\u00edn have already become an example of how to provide efficient public transport for poor urban neighbourhoods<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s Agency of International Cooperation has already signed a framework agreement with the African Union Development Agency<\/a> to bolster technical assistance in Africa.<\/p>\n

Looking forward<\/h2>\n

African countries should seek further interactions with the global south to increase their voice and agency in pursuit of a fairer international order. For instance, agriculture, food security and climate change are important areas where Colombia and the African continent could jointly influence global discussions<\/a> that directly affect the developing world.<\/p>\n

Colombia\u2019s charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires to South Africa, Jose Ignacio Juli\u00e3o Al\u00ed, told me the new moment<\/p>\n

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marks an opportunity to close gaps between emerging countries with similar challenges, in terms of social cohesion and reconciliation, climate and environmental focus as part of megadiverse regions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The world\u2019s economic relationships are shifting and new powers such as China, Brazil and India are rising. Petro\u2019s and M\u00e1rquez\u2019s election offers a chance to deepen Africa-Colombia relations and cooperation.<\/p>\n

Source: The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The recent election of Colombia\u2019s first left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, and first black vice-president, Francia M\u00e1rquez, creates a new opening to revitalise ties with Africa. Colombia is often overlooked as a nation of interest because of its reputation for violence. Its negative standing results mainly from the decades-long armed conflict between previous governments and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[3257],"class_list":{"0":"post-236332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa-news-2","8":"tag-mypr","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/colombias-new-left-wing-government-three-opportunities-to-build-stronger-ties-with-africa.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}