Colombia will next week formally become the NATO’s first Latin American “global partner,” President Juan Manuel Santos announced on Friday.
Mr. Santos, who won the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end a half-century of armed conflict with the former rebel movement FARC, said the move would improve Colombia’s image on the world stage.
“We will formalise in Brussels next week — and this is very important — Colombia’s entry into the NATO in the category of global partner. We will be the only country in Latin America with this privilege,” the President said in a televised address.
In addition to Colombia, the NATO lists Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan as “partners across the globe”.
According to NATO’s website, areas of cooperation include cyber security, maritime security, terrorism and its links to organised crime, as well as building the capacities and capabilities of the Colombian armed forces.
