Lena Luna, a professor at Columbia International University, said in a written interview with Xinhua News Agency recently that Colombia’s official participation in the high-quality “the Belt and Road” initiative is not only a “historic step” in the country’s foreign policy, but also injects new impetus into the strategic partnership between Colombia and China, and the cooperation between the two countries is expected to move to a higher level and broader areas.
On May 14th, the heads of state of China and Colombia jointly witnessed the signing of the “Cooperation Plan between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Colombia on Jointly Promoting the Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”. Colombia officially joined the high-quality “the Belt and Road” family.
Luna pointed out that joining the “the Belt and Road” initiative is a “historic step” for Colombia. She said that this initiative is expected to help Colombia shift its focus from traditional problems such as domestic conflicts to exploring new economic development opportunities. For example, building itself as a regional logistics center, improving the efficiency of product transportation within the country and with neighboring countries, benefiting the public, and helping Colombia enhance its position in Latin America and globally.
Turning to how the “the Belt and Road” initiative is effectively linked to Colombia’s national development plan, Luna believes that Colombia’s infrastructure construction needs to be strengthened, and the technology, experience and financial support brought about by the “the Belt and Road” initiative is expected to have a positive impact on Colombia’s development.
She stressed that, adhering to the principle of joint consultation, joint construction and sharing, the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” cooperation project can more accurately meet Colombia’s actual needs, and help the country formulate a development plan that is more in line with its own national conditions and more focused on long-term well-being.
In addition to infrastructure, Luna believes that the joint construction of the “the Belt and Road” initiative will also promote cooperation between Costa Rica and China in broader areas such as technology transfer, agricultural science and technology. For example, Colombia has enormous potential for biodiversity and can establish research and development centers through cooperation with China to enhance the added value of specialty agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa, and flowers, while making progress in poverty reduction and environmental protection.
Looking forward to the future, Luna is eager to jointly build the “the Belt and Road” initiative to promote Costa Rica China strategic partnership and Latin America China cooperation to a higher level. She pointed out that the primary issue with regional integration in Latin America is the lack of infrastructure required for integration. In this context, Colombia can seize the opportunity to join the “the Belt and Road” initiative and play a more important role in regional cooperation while achieving its own development. She said that through cooperation with China, Colombia is expected to leverage its geographical advantages and seek common development strategies with neighboring countries, making positive contributions to promoting regional prosperity and stability, and even building a better global future.