MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

President Santos in London says that cooperation with NATO has been going “since a long time”

The Colombian leader on Friday met with PM David Cameron

President Juan Manuel Santos revealed on Friday in London that Colombia has been cooperating with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, “since a long time”. Last June first the Colombian Executive announced that the Ministry of Defence was going to sign an agreement with NATO “to begin the process of becoming closer to NATO”.

“We have been quite clear. We are in cooperation with NATO since a long time, and that is what we plan to continue”, said Santos at the Colombian embassy in London at the end of his first of two-day visit to the UK.

“It was a very constructive and friendly meeting we had with PM (David) Cameron at 10 Downing Street”, said Santos in reference to the event earlier in the day.

“We ratified that the UK and Colombia have currently the best possible relations in history. We thanked British support in many fields, such as membership of the Organization for Economic and Development Cooperation, OEDC” underlined Santos who also mentioned UK cooperation in issues related to “intelligence and security”.

Santos on Friday afternoon met with Foreign Secretary William Hauge with whom “we went over many issues in which the UK and Colombia are jointly working” as well as the situation in the Middle East involving Israel, Syria and Hezbollah.

MP Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee handed President Santos a copy of a report from Westminster on the war on drugs, while the Colombian leader delivered the latest report from the Organization of American States on the issue which was currently addressed at this week’s assembly in Guatemala.

“Hopefully the document will help as a basis for the analysis in UK and the rest of Europe on the issue of drugs, and at the same time an element of debate so that we can find ways to more effectively combat drugs”, said Santos.

MP Vaz praised “the work displayed by President Santos in Colombia in fighting for peace and an end to internal strife as well a combating the drugs trade” and because of his success in such a struggle “British parliament should proposed Santos for the Peace Nobel Prize”.

“We pay tribute to a great leader, to what President Santos is doing to ensure peace in Colombia. He is undoubtedly a man of peace and we are grateful to have him here with us in the UK” said the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee.