Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee June 18, 2103 House Of
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Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee June 18, 2103 House of Commons, Canberra Presentation by HE Mrs. Clemencia Forero-Ucros, Ambassador of Colombia Mr. Chairman and distinguished Members It is a great honour for me as Ambassador of Colombia to be able today to share views and perspectives with you about my country, Colombia, and its relations with Australia. Let me start by saying that President Juan Manuel Santos has declared that relations with Australia are a priority for our foreign policy agenda. He has instructed me, together with our Foreign Minister, to do my utmost to deepen and diversify our common bilateral agenda. We are very pleased by the fact that Australia has opened a General Consulate in Bogota, since July 2012, headed by a distinguished personality, Mr. Crispin Conroy, former Ambassador of Australia to Chile. With his support, and the efforts of our Embassy here in Canberra we have been able to organize this year several activities in the field of mining and investment. Last May we organized a Mission for good practices in mining, led by the President of the Colombian Mining Authority and the Deputy Minister of Mines, who visited the Centre for Sustainable Mining of the University of Queensland, in order to share experiences with the goal of establishing cooperation in relevant fields such as Social License and relations with communities. Also Colombia was one of the sponsors of The Latin America Down Under Conference in Sydney, and our Delegation led by the President of the National Mining Agency delivered on that occasion a very informative presentation on the perspectives for mining exploration and exploitation in Colombia and to meet with several companies interested in our country both in Sydney and in Melbourne. It is important to note that around 45 Australian companies are already established in Colombia most of them providing engineering and consultancy services to the mining industry as well as exploring for minerals. BHP Billiton together with Xstrata are exploiting one of the biggest open pit coal mines in the world, Cerrejon. Colombia is the number one producer of coal in Latin America and the 10th in the world. BHP Billiton is also operating the important Cerromatoso nickel mine .We wish that in the near future more companies, including junior ones, can establish themselves in our country. The National Mining Agency has identified 11 minerals as the most strategic 1 ones for the development of business in Colombia, these are Gold, Copper, Iron, Platinum, Coal, Coltan, Potassium, Magnesium, Nickel, Phosphate and Uranium. Colombia has become one of the most attractive destinations for investment in Latin America. Government policies applied during the last decade regarding national security, strong international relations, growth in foreign investment, have created sound foundations for optimism. It is evident that Colombia has suffered from internal violence and the impact of drug trafficking, but it has never faltered its strong determination to overcome its difficulties in a democratic framework. Today Colombia presents a new face to the world, one that look at a prosperous future that is already beginning to reveal itself as a present of opportunities. Many important things are happening in Latin America. We have been growing at a fast pace, and it has been attracting international investment. Colombia, in this context, is at the forefront of Latin America. In the last four years our economy grew at an annual rate of 4 per cent. On May this year we were able to announce that our inflation rate is 2 per cent. Our bilateral trade is modest but it has been growing at a consistent pace in the last few years, Colombia exported to Australia US$ FOB 4,187,663.07 on the first semester of 2011 increasing that amount on 68% for a total of US$ FOB 7,070,250.05 on the same period for 2012. Colombia as well as Australia, is working towards the goal of trade liberalisation through Free Trade Agreements. Colombia has had a consistent policy and has Free Trade Treaties in force with the United States, Canada, the Andean Community, Mercosur, Chile, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Switzerland. We have already signed Treaties with the European Union, and Costa Rica. We finalized negotiations with Israel, Korea and Panama and are currently negotiating with Turkey and Japan. Thanks to these free trade agreements, Colombia establishes itself as a solid export platform, turning the country into a gateway for the world. We have a competitive and strategic location with easy access to the world markets and coasts both on the Caribbean and the pacific. Colombia, together with Australia, is a committed member of the Cairns Group. We have launched a Productive Transformation Program and in this context we have identified core agribusiness sectors and we are certain that Australian companies can participate in this new strategy not only from the trade point of view but also on the exchange of technology one. We have exchanged views with the Government of Australia concerning an FTA and we hope, as it was announced by Minister Craig Emerson in July 2012, that we can negotiate an FTA, which will certainly help to increase the reciprocal flows of trade, but also to foster and protect investment. I would like also to highlight that Colombia is after Brazil, the Latin American country with more students in Australia. In 2012, 7, 2 477 Colombian students commenced their studies in this country. So the education services sector is, besides mining, an important factor in our relationship and it helps with the consolidation of people-to-people links and academic exchange. It is relevant to mention that the most important risk factor rating agencies have given Colombia an investment grade and agreed that the country is experiencing a positive economic and financial moment thank to its skills in managing the international economic crisis, in fulfilling its obligations, in increasing its macroeconomic credibility and in applying effective security measures. The Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, pointed out in December 2012, during her visit to Colombia that Colombia has posted a remarkable economic performance over the last decade. A strong policy framework, anchored by an inflation targeting regime, the flexible exchange rate, a medium term fiscal framework and skilful policy management helped increased resilience to adverse shocks and maintain strong growth and low inflation. Our President is an advocate of the improvement of public policies in Colombia so that we can progressively reach international benchmarks and standards. We have been participating in several working groups at the OECD and joined important Declarations and Agreements such as the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the Declaration on Propriety, the Integrity and Transparency in the Conduct of International Business and Finance instrument, the Recommendation of the Council on Due Diligence for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, and the Green Growth Declaration. We are happy to announce that at the last Ministerial Meeting of the OECD that took place in Paris on the 29-30 of May, the Ministers welcomed the decision set up in the Council Resolution on strengthening OECDs Global Reach, TO OPEN ACCESS DISCUSSIONS WITH COLOMBIA. Colombia: a partner for Australia at the Alliance of the Pacific Colombia is now the Chair for a one year term of the Pacific Alliance, a mechanism for the economic and commercial integration of Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru. These four like-minded countries have solid and democratic institutions, with dynamic and globalized markets and positive investment conditions. 3 As an economic bloc, Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru have a total population of over 209 million inhabitants. Together we account for 50 % of trade in the region and 35% of the total Latin American and Caribbean GDP. High macroeconomic stability and capacity for market expansion are characteristics of the Bloc’s four member States. Also the four countries represent 26 % of total Foreign Direct Investment flows of Latin America and the Caribbean. Together we are constructing an area of profound market driven economic integration that will contribute to the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons. We intend to promote the growth, development and competitiveness of the countries’ economies, with the goal of achieving greater welfare and overcoming socio-economic inequalities. We are becoming a platform of economic and commercial integration as well as political coordination with global outreach, particularly towards the Asia Pacific. Australia has formally become an Observer to the Alliance. We welcome your participation and we were pleased with the presence of Parliamentary Secretary Kelvin Thompson, who represented Australia in the recent Summit which took place in Cali, Colombia. We certainly think that Australia can play a very relevant role as a bridge or connecting rod between the Asia Pacific region and our side of the Pacific, where you find reliable like -minded countries with a lot of potential for trade and investment. To finalize this presentation, I would like to remark that Colombia is a reliable partner for Australia. We are a country that has been able to overcome the difficulties of the past, preserving and deepening our democratic institutions. The two countries share common values in terms of democracy, respect for fundamental freedoms, freedom of enterprise, belief in free trade as an engine for growth. We offer now multiple opportunities that can materialize through the political will of our governments and the dynamics and activities of the private sector of each country. I thank you once again for your kind attention and interest. For Colombia it is a great privilege to have had this space to share views with you all, as distinguished members of the Australian Parliament.