Colombian President Ivan Duque is expected to open a trade and innovation office in Jerusalem next week during a his 3-day visit to Israel, Foreign Ministry officials declared on Thursday.
The President will lead a delegation of 95 people, including the Ministers of Defense, Health, Agriculture, Trade, Environment and Transport. Several officials, businessmen and representatives from Jeweish Community in Colombia will also be accompanying the President.
The size and shape of the Colombian delegation “underscores the importance of the relationship and its desire – and ours of course – to spread cooperation on a wide range of issues,” said Latin America’s Foreign Office Desk Deputy Director, Yonatan Peled, in a conversation with reporters.
The Jerusalem office of Innpulsa, Bogota’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Agency, will become Colombia’s first innovation center abroad. The duke plans to open similar offices in South Korea and San Francisco, Peled said.
During a video conference with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the duke announced his intentions to open the office in August 2020 to mark the ratification of a free trade agreement between the two countries.