Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Leo Varadkar, was recently visiting Colombia. His agenda in the country included a high-level meeting with President Iván Duque, the inauguration of the Dublin embassy in Bogotá and a trip to Valle del Cauca where he was able to get to know how is the peace process going and demining in the country.
One of the main points highlighted by Varadkar was the investments of Irish companies that have a presence in the country. “There are many economic opportunities and I see that there are many Irish companies investing in Colombia. I met with them and I see enormous growth potential“, Varadkar said in an interview with EL TIEMPO.
In fact, during a speech at the Irish embassy in Bogotá, he said that “he had the opportunity to visit and meet some of the most successful and well-known Irish companies in Colombia, including Smurfit Kappa and Viva Air. Vice President Ramírez very kindly offered a lunch, where he formally launched the Ireland-Colombia Business Network“.
During his trip, he also signed two memorandums of understanding, one with the Police and another on education and research, where he highlighted that there are opportunities for Colombian students to go on an exchange to study English and other careers.
The deputy prime minister also spoke about the war in Eastern Europe and called for other governments in the region to join in condemning Russia for the invasion it launched a month ago in the Ukraine.
What is the balance on bilateral relations between Ireland and Colombia?
I am very happy to have the opportunity to visit this country. The first time I came was in 2017, and I have seen that in the last five years the relationship between the two countries has improved, the relationship between the two countries has been strengthened. Despite the pandemic, we opened the Irish embassy here in Bogotá, and Colombia opened its embassy in Ireland. This is a large embassy in the region because we see Colombia as an ally.
We are interested in seeing what is happening with the peace process in Colombia because there are similarities and differences with our process. In addition, there are many economic opportunities and I see that there are many Irish companies investing in Colombia. I met with them and I see enormous growth potential.
What did you talk with President Duque?
Two areas that we focus on and that I think are highly important are the way Colombia is taking climate action and also how it is working on renewable energy investment. I would also like to talk about the situation in Colombia and Venezuela because I know that Colombia has received and many Venezuelans who have had to escape oppression and have received them here, have given them temporary protection, that is something that Ireland will do with those who come from Ukraine. We also talked about Ukraine and I invited the President to join with the European Union and the Western world to impose sanctions on Russia because what is happening with Ukraine is terrible.
What do you consider to be the challenges that the country still faces in order to implement the Peace Agreement, especially at this time when we are ‘on the verge’ of electing a new Government?
When it came to the peace process with Northern Ireland there were similarities, we signed the agreement in 1997, the ceasefire, and 25 years later we have still not fully implemented the agreement, but there is good energy, it takes time, there have been difficulties and Many of the complications that Colombia has experienced, we in Ireland understand them and perhaps much more than in other countries. I believe that what is really important here is to make sure that the State and the Government are present in all parts of the country because people must have security, and that way they will have economic opportunities and it will be easier for peace to resist. That is what we have learned from our experience. I believe that the process that has been achieved is important, the difficulties have been overcome.
Your Government contributes some funds for demining, what is your opinion about this process in the country?
It was an experience that taught me a lot because I had never read in detail about demining and Ireland works with the Halo Trust, which is a demining effort in this region. It’s a great job, everyone is going back to their land. This is very important. And if it gains the trust of the locals it can be a much more successful program, it can create more jobs, but I think it’s also taking too much time, and if there was a way to prioritize areas where it could help more I think it could be more indeed, from Ireland’s point of view we will be happy to continue to support this.
On other issues, what are the opportunities for Colombian investors who want to enter the Irish market?
There are many Colombian coffee exports to Ireland. Colombia is our main source of coal. Hopefully that will happen in the future, but for now it’s a big part of our energy mix because we don’t accept it from Russia, so we’ve turned to Colombia. I also think there is potential for more fresh produce exports.
We see great opportunities in aviation and financial technology. Ireland is a technologically advanced country and we have a very advanced digital and computerized pharmaceutical industry that we want to make available to part of the Colombian market, there is already very good access, but this is a relationship that must go both ways to make it more sustainable.
And what are the exchange opportunities that both Colombians have?
On this visit we signed two memorandums of understanding, one with the police and the other with higher education and research. On the subject of education, we want Colombian students to come to Ireland to learn English and also to do other studies and work at the same time, if that is their wish.
We have had a lot of students coming from Brazil to Ireland, not as many as from Colombia, we want that to change and we also want to see more cooperation between Irish universities and universities here. So there is much more that can be done in that regard, especially as it is an English-speaking country, which is in the European Union, and that can be very attractive for students coming to Ireland.
Regarding Ukraine, what is the position of the Irish government against the Russian invasion?
The position of the Irish government is very clear. We are with the European Union and we are totally against conquest by way of war. Russia is actively attacking Ukraine, we have never seen this in Europe since the 1940s. This is an attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government through overthrow and occupy the land, the cities, the territories. We cannot allow it and that is why we are giving humanitarian, financial and military assistance, like Ireland and like the European Union, and that is also why we have imposed very strong economic sanctions against Russia.
I have to say that President Duque and the government of Colombia have also been one of the strongest in Latin America with their voices of opposition to what Russia is trying to do, but we would like the governments of Latin America to support that with sanctions against Russia. Russia to isolate it, so that there is a military success in Ukraine, and that they fail politically and economically.
Where do you think the war is going?
This is something that is impossible to predict. I think it is clear that Russia has met much more resistance from Ukraine than expected. The Ukrainians are fighting very bravely. A lot of people around Putin thought that the Ukrainians were Russians, and I think it’s now clear to them that the Ukrainians have a voice and that they’re resisting and that’s an admirable thing.
I do not think that President Putin and his government expected such a strong response from Europe, the West and the United States, in terms of economic sanctions, but what has to happen is a ceasefire. There is no military solution to this problem. Even if Russia is successful in Ukraine, it will continue to be isolated internationally and I believe that the Ukrainian government in exile will continue to resist and I assume that there must definitely be a pause, a ceasefire, there must be talks, and Europe and the West need security guarantees. We want them to speak, but they have to respect democracy, democracy in Ukraine has to be respected, and the right they have to decide their future.
CARLOS JOSE REYES
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
TIME
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