The appointment is next Thursday at the White House. They are expected to talk about the fight against drugs, migration, total peace and climate change.
President Gustavo Petro is preparing for the most important diplomatic meeting since the beginning of his administration: the Casa de Nariño confirmed that the President has a confirmed appointment with his US counterpart, Joe Biden, for next Thursday, April 20.
The meeting will be the first official face-to-face meeting between both heads of state and will take place at the White House in Washington.
According to the Casa de Nariño, the meeting “responds to the formal invitation extended by the President of the United States and represents an opportunity to reaffirm the solid alliance that exists between our nations, in an expanded and reformed framework of cooperation and friendship, for the benefit of the peoples of both countries”.
Along these lines, it was noted that the leaders are expected to address issues on the bilateral agenda, with priority being given to topics such as drug policy and total peace, migration, investment opportunities and climate change.
In terms of the fight against drugs, it will be a strategic meeting because Petro will be able to directly present to Biden his intention to reconfigure the approach to the fight against drugs, which he has insistently described as “failed”.
In this matter, the Colombian president has ordered to prioritize the seizure of cocaine and inputs for its production, and has frozen manual seizures.
After the announcement of the meeting, Petro thanked Biden for his invitation and said that both nations are in “a key moment to strengthen the relationship and mutual cooperation, not only in the fight against drug trafficking but also in the protection of the Amazon, climate change and rural development”.
So far, both countries have maintained a fluid diplomatic relationship that has allowed them to continue with international cooperation issues such as extraditions and judicial operations, so it is expected that there will be a good climate in this meeting that will take place eight months before the beginning of the Petro government. In the case of former President Iván Duque, times were shorter, since only a month after taking office, he had an official meeting with the then President of the United States, Donald Trump.
In addition to his meeting with Biden, Petro also travels to Washington with the intention of holding multiple meetings with multilateral institutions related to the economy, the defense of Human Rights and the protection of the environment.
In addition, it is likely that the President will insist on the need to eliminate the tourist visa for Colombians, since it has been a request of his government and progress has been reported in this matter.