Colombia signs Belt and Road Initiative cooperation plan with China

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Colombia on Wednesday signed a cooperation plan for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China, an official statement said.

The two nations should take Colombia's formal accession to the BRI as an "opportunity to upgrade bilateral cooperation," China's President Xi Jinping said.

“This is a historic step that opens new opportunities for investment, technological cooperation, and sustainable development for both countries,” Colombia’s Foreign Ministry said on X.

The plan to jointly build the "Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road" was signed after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Colombian President Gustavo Petro in Beijing, Chinese state media reported.

“With the signing of the agreement with China, Colombia strengthens its strategic partnership: market access, promotion of projects such as railway corridors and renewable energies, and more opportunities for national producers. A new chapter in our foreign policy,” the ministry said.

“The signing of this cooperation plan opens a horizon of endless opportunities in trade, investment, and tourism. There is no turning back: Colombia opens itself to the world with determination,” Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia said after signing the plan.

Launched in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative, also referred to as the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by China to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations.

Petro is on a trip to China for the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Forum.

The bilateral trade between the two nations climbed to $6.7 billion in the first four months of 2025.