North Atlantic Treaty Oranization
Allied Command Operations
March 27, 2014
Columbia’s Vice Minister of Defence visits SHAPE
Earlier this month, Enrique Bedoya Vizcaya, Colombian Vice Minister of Defence, visited SHAPE. During his visit, he sat down to speak with SHAPE Public Affairs where he reaffirmed the partnership that Colombia has with NATO and outlined his key points about the areas of cooperation and capabilities shared between Colombia and the Alliance.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organization
March 19, 2014
NATO and Colombia discuss future of cooperation
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow welcomed Colombia’s interest in broadening consultations and cooperation with the Alliance in talks with Colombia’s Vice Minister of Defence, Jorge Enrique Bedoya, on Wednesday (19 March 2014).
During the meeting, the Deputy Secretary General reiterated NATO’s readiness to explore the potential for doing more together. Possible areas of future cooperation could include ammunition safety and military training courses. Closer cooperation is a gradual process that will evolve over time, Ambassador Vershbow said.
Colombia already engages in several NATO programmes and activities. This includes the participation of Colombian experts in NATO’s Building Integrity initiative which promotes transparency in the defence sector. Colombia also participates in NATO codification activities which seek to set common logistics standards.
In June 2013, NATO and Colombia signed an Agreement on the Security of Information which sets the basis for NATO and Colombia to explore future cooperation and consultation in areas of common interest. The Agreement is a first step toward Colombia being considered as a NATO partner. Colombia’s participation in additional NATO-run activities will continue to be decided by Allies on a case-by-case basis.
