Colombia to become first Latin American NATO ‘global Partner’: Santos

Colombia will formally join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a “global partner” next week, becoming the first Latin American country to gain membership of the US-led military alliance.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made the announcement in a televised speech on Friday, expressing hope that the move could help “improve his country’s image” on the world stage.

"We will formalize in Brussels next week -- and this is very important -- Colombia's entry into NATO in the category of global partner. We will be the only country in Latin America with this privilege," Santos said.

The 66-year-old president hoped that Colombia will now "have much more play" in the global political arena.

NATO is a US-led military alliance encompassing 29 member states, with the latest addition being the small Balkan nation of Montenegro last year.

"Partners across the globe," or simply "global partners," are a category of countries that NATO cooperates with on an individual basis outside of its main frameworks.

In addition to Colombia, the US-led alliance also lists Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan as its global partners.

Colombia and NATO reached a partnership deal in May 2017 following the conclusion of a peace agreement with the former rebel movement FARC, which is now a political party.

NATO member states, largely made up of Western European countries have significantly increased their military presence near Russia’s western borders over the past years.

SS