Strengthening the Diaspora
The Ambassador described Germany as a strategic partner. The approximately 40,000 Colombians living in Germany, she said, are the country's finest ambassadors and were therefore placed at the heart of a National Day celebration deliberately conceived as a public festival. The Embassy is pursuing a new, participatory approach to diplomacy, strengthening the Colombian diaspora through networks spanning academia, business, culture and the legal profession.

At the same time, H.E. Ambassador Yadir Salazar-Mejía highlighted the dynamic development of bilateral relations. Germany is Colombia’s most important trading partner within the European Union, and cooperation extends across the energy transition, climate protection, research, security and vocational education and training. As a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Colombia is assuming international responsibility while championing multilateralism.

Tackling Organised Crime and Drug Trafficking
Addressing the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking, H.E. Ambassador Yadir Salazar-Mejía argued that expanding legitimate economic opportunities and trade is essential. As an OECD member, a NATO Global Partner and Latin America’s third-largest economy, Colombia is committed to further deepening its partnership with Germany, including through a planned bilateral social security agreement.

In his response, Hans-Georg Engelke, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, made a self-deprecating reference to the fact that he had been tasked with speaking “of all things, about the issue of drugs”, despite the many other fascinating aspects of Colombia that deserved attention. He noted that a particularly close partnership had developed in the field of internal security, as the growing influx of cocaine into Germany and the spread of organised crime also posed a serious threat to the country’s domestic security.

Building Legitimate Economic Structures
Engelke stressed that the underlying causes could only be tackled through joint action, not least because demand for illicit drugs originates in Western countries. Today, Colombia and Germany work closely together through police liaison officers, customs authorities and joint security initiatives. He agreed with H.E. Ambassador Yadir Salazar-Mejía that the objective must be to strengthen legitimate economic structures and provide small-scale farmers with secure markets for their produce, enabling them to break free from dependence on criminal networks.

He added that cooperation on migration, trade and security would continue to expand. Colombia, he concluded, is a reliable democratic partner for Germany, a NATO Global Partner, and a committed advocate of multilateralism.