Colombia to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Petro also insisted on the need for integration with neighboring countries

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced in Beijing Monday that his country would be joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the Silk Road.

Speaking at the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) IV Ministerial Meeting, Petro noted that his decision reflected the South American country’s commitment to sovereign and equal international relations.

“We are going to sign the Silk Road. Both Latin America and Colombia are free, sovereign, [and] independent. And the relations we establish with any people in the world, north, east, west, or south, must be in conditions of freedom and equality,” Petro stressed.

The initiative aims to enhance global connectivity through infrastructure projects like roads, ports, and telecommunications, involving over 150 countries and investments exceeding US$ 1 trillion.

In this scenario, Petro highlighted plans to develop advanced technological infrastructure, including submarine fiber optics, to connect Colombia with Asia and Europe, and to foster technological hubs in regions like San Andrés and Buenaventura.

This move aligns Colombia with other Latin American countries in the initiative and seeks to boost economic and technological development.

Petro will stay in China until May 17, engaging in bilateral talks with President Xi Jinping and other activities of the Celac, which he currently heads.

Petro’s vision includes “the development of state-of-the-art technological infrastructure that connects Colombia, through submarine fiber optics, with Asia and Europe,” he also explained.

The Colombian president also insisted on the need for integration with neighboring countries such as Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador through technological infrastructure such as fiber optics, and through a common commitment to peace and clean production.

“I was a little tired of climbing the Chinese wall, but here, I leave the explanation of what I intend to achieve in my official visit to China, as president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and as president of the Republic of Colombia,” he also noted on social media.

“In the last session of Celac I was elected president, and I develop its agenda that begins with a Celac-China summit; then Celac-Europe will follow. We have asked the US government to hold a Celac-US summit as well. Its objective, due to its geographic position, is to be the heart of the social, political, and economic world,” Petro further explained.