Biden hopes for strong US-Colombia ties under Trump

Wrapping up his two-day visit to Colombia, US Vice President Joe Biden expressed hope that the bilateral relationship will not be weakened after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

"I view Colombia as the keystone, to hemispheric prosperity," Efe news agency quoted Biden as saying at the inaugural session of a US-Colombia Advisory Council meeting.

Delivering a speech just two days after Colombia's Congress approved a historic peace accord between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, Biden said the most difficult part of the peace process -- the implementation phase -- was just beginning.

Biden said the council's members can influence the incoming president by defending the need to continue close diplomatic and trade ties.

On the campaign trail, Trump slammed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) linking the US, Canada and Mexico, as job-destroying and has pledged to put America first in the country's dealings with other nations.

The United States' free-trade agreement with Colombia was signed in 2006 under President George W. Bush's administration and took effect six years later.

This year, Obama also asked the US Congress to approve $450 million in economic assistance for Colombia under a new framework known as "Paz Colombia" (Peace Colombia).

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who also attended the gathering, said the private sector and the United States both had a critical role to play in forging a peaceful and prosperous future.--IANS

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