Federal President Frank Walter Steinmeier and Elke Büdenbender traveled to the Republic of Colombia from 11 to 13 February. This was the Federal President’s first visit to Latin America. The aim was to lend new political, cultural and economic impetus to relations between Europe and Latin America and between Germany and Colombia. The Federal President wishes to underline Germany’s support for the endeavours to bring about peace in Colombia. Perseverance will be needed to achieve peace. The message that Colombia is sending can have a positive impact far beyond the country’s borders.
The visit was taking place to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Humboldt and the Federal President’s patronage of the Humboldt Season. Humboldt’s legacy to science, ecology and civilisation is highly relevant today and honouring it is a task for humankind as a whole. This legacy creates close ties between Germany and Colombia and between Germany and the Republic of Ecuador, which the Federal President will visit from 13 to 16 February. Both countries deserve recognition for their endeavours in the fields of environmental protection and species conservation.
The Federal President held political talks with President Iván Duque Márquez in Bogotá, the Colombian capital. He also visited the Humboldt Institute and an aid centre, where he learned about how Colombia is helping refugees from Venezuela. In Cartagena, he visited a group of islands that is focusing on sustainable tourism and discussed the situation in the country with members of civil society. The last visit to Colombia by a Federal President took place in 2013.
The Federal President and Elke Büdenbender then traveled on to Ecuador. In both Colombia and Ecuador, the Federal President was accompanied by a delegation of experts on Alexander von Humboldt. This delegation included Humboldt biographer Andrea Wulf, climate and biodiversity researchers such as Sarah Darwin, the great-great-granddaughter of Charles Darwin, popular science writers, and representatives of German Humboldt institutions. The Federal President also explored the topic of plastic waste in the oceans in depth with a group of prize-winners from Jugend forscht, a German youth research competition.
Overview of the programme:
Monday, 11 February
- Flight to Cartagena/Colombia
- Arrival in Cartagena/Colombia
- Talks with representatives of the Kogi indigenous community
Meeting with members of civil society
Tuesday, 12 February
- Isla Grande
Visit to the marine conservation area,
Corales del Rosario y de San Bernardo - Boat trip along the mangrove forests, with a stop at Playa Blanca on Barú Peninsula to visit the Colombian Navy’s military port
- Flight to Bogotá
- Presidential residence, Casa de Nariño
Welcome with military honours by Iván Duque Márquez, President of the Republic of Colombia - Lunch hosted by the President of the Republic of Colombia, followed by talks and a joint press conference
- San Agustín Cloisters
Photo exhibition in the German-Colombian Peace Institute – CAPAZ on memories of the armed conflict in Colombia - Talks with Father Francisco de Roux, President of the Colombian Truth Commission; Patricia Linares, President of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace; and Luz Marina Monzón, Director of the Search Unit for Missing Persons
- Talks with Brigitte Baptiste, Director of the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute
Wednesday, 13 February
- Salítre
Visit to the Bogotá Municipal aid centre for Venezuelan refugees - Flight to Quito/Ecuador