Monday 3 October 2011

"President Obama has Accomplished"; Santos Thanked Obama for Sending FTA

The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, has thanked his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, who sent the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries to Congress for final approval, pending since 2006.
"President Obama has met,"
Santos has stated in a press conference from the presidential palace, headquarters of the Colombian Government, referring to the promise made by the U.S. president during their last bilateral meeting.



Thus, he urged Republicans and Democrats, with which said maintaining
"good relations"
to approve "up" to the FTA, noting that this would strengthen "significantly" the links between both countries.

In this regard, he recalled that, despite the start of its passage through Congress is an important step,
"The ultimate goal will not be achieved until both the House of Representatives and the Senate vote positively the FTA."

"This mountain is a goal: we have arrived, but took six years climbing the mountain,"
Santos recalled, referring to the time this agreement, like the U.S. signed with Panama and South Korea, has been paralyzed .

TLC BENEFITS


On the other hand, the Colombian president has emphasized the economic benefits will the FTA for the Latin American country, in terms of exports and job creation, as recorded by the statement released by the Government Information System (GIS).

In this regard, he pointed out that this agreement will strengthen the three pillars on which the Government has based the country's development plan for the coming years. "I very much welcome this step because it means more security, more jobs and less poverty," he said.

Also explained that the FTA includes an extension of tariff preferences until July 2013, and its retroactive to February this year.

He also stressed that
"the fact that it was a Democratic administration that has sent the FTA to Congress, is an implicit recognition of the progress made by Colombia on Human Rights." And we will continue moving forward, "
Santos assured.

For his part, Foreign Minister-American country, Maria Angela Holguin, has considered, through a statement that this step demonstrates the interest of the United States to strengthen its relations with Colombia,
"which is great news for the Colombian people and their businesses. "

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