Madrid/The turn of the Government of Colombia with the recently elected Abelardo de la Espriella is also clear in its foreign policy with almost a month left until the inauguration. The foreign minister appointed by the new president, Omar Bula, has assured that he will close his embassies in Havana and Managua.
“We want an efficient, proactive foreign ministry, with good relations with everyone, without supporting, however, governments that are totally opposed to the philosophy of President De la Espriella, as in the case of Nicaragua and Cuba. We are not going to legitimize regimes by putting an embassy there,” said the foreign minister-designate in an interview with RCN News.
Asked by reporters if they are going to cut diplomatic relations, he said: “There will be relations, what there will not be are embassies.” There are “several models that can be used,” he explained, but insisted: “In any case, they are countries that are definitely in a different current, not so much because of ideology: these are dictatorships, long-term dictatorships, and I do not think it is our role to legitimize them in any way.”
“These are dictatorships, long-term dictatorships, and I don’t think it is our role to legitimize them in any way”
Regarding Venezuela, Bula assured that they will be “very close” to the process that is being carried out hand in hand with the United States, “always with a vision aimed at that in the near future we can work together, in favor of democracy, freedom of enterprise, Western values, so many things that have been weakened in recent years in our country.”
“It is a gigantic opportunity,” declared the chancellor-designate. “For me it is a beautiful thing to be able to think that Colombia and Venezuela are uniting, exploiting their wealth rationally, opening up, creating solid democratic systems.”
On the other hand, he affirms that they will recover the diplomatic connection with countries with which the relationship “has been greatly affected in recent years.” Urgently, he said, with the United States, but also with Israel, a State with which, before the outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, broke relations in May 2024, “we had cordial relations for decades.”
The “great pillars” on which he will base his mandate at the head of Colombian foreign policy, Bula mentioned, are three: “modernization, professionalization and austerity.” In this regard, he assured that, despite being a public service, he intends to give the Foreign Ministry his experience as an administrator, and make it work “like a company”, with “measurable results, concentrating a lot on economic and technological diplomacy.”
“We know that there is also Colombian money, from taxpayers, that is allocated to international cooperation. That will be the criterion: a business criterion, basically”
He elaborated on this in another interview, with Blu Radio, in which he said that they will examine the funds destined for international cooperation. “We know that there is also Colombian money, from taxpayers, that is allocated to international cooperation. That will be the criterion: a business criterion, basically,” he mentioned.
In that same space, Bula announced that a review of Colombia’s participation in multilateral organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS) will be carried out. “We are going to carry out a very thorough and rigorous analysis of our relationship with each of the international organizations. It is not about abandoning the international community, but about reviewing the current agreements. Based on that analysis, we will seek to ensure that everything is based on our national interest.”
And he continued: “If at any time there is a clash of criteria between what the United Nations proposes and the international agendas clash with our agenda, we will have to analyze from a sovereign point of view what is convenient for us and what is not. At that moment we will make the decision.”
