U.S. Secretary of State Rubio arrived in Colombia on September 8 and met with President Avelado de la Espreja in the northern coastal city of Barranquilla to sign key mineral agreements and civil nuclear cooperation agreements.

The picture showsU.S. Secretary of State Rubio. 

Just on August 7 this year, de la Espreja was sworn in as President of Colombia for a four-year term. This is the first visit by a US cabinet-level official since he took office as president more than a month ago.

On the same day, the two sides held a meeting in Barranquilla. Following the meeting, De la Espriella stated that Colombia and the United States will strengthen cooperation in areas such as regional security, drug interdiction, border affairs, and investment development.

According to reports, Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Blah, who participated in the talks, said in a video released on the 8th that the visit opened the "beginning of the reconstruction of the strategic alliance" between Colombia and the United States, and called the United States Colombia in the region. The main partner.

The U.S. State Department announced on the 8th that Rubio and Omar Brah signed two cooperation agreements on key minerals and civil nuclear energy in Barranquilla. The two sides will establish a framework for cooperation in key minerals, jointly identify and promote mining and processing projects within six months through government and private sector support such as guarantees, loans, equity investments and off-take agreements, and strengthen cooperation in licensing approval, price floor, asset safety review, mineral recovery and geological mapping; at the same time, they will sign a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear energy cooperation, cooperation will focus on regulatory capabilities, industrial cooperation, scientific research and personnel training, and explore the application of advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, nuclear fuel, equipment and services in Colombia.

Colombia is the first leg of Rubio's three-nation tour of South America, followed by Ecuador and Peru. Rubio will meet separately with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, who was sworn in in July this year.

Earlier, the US State Department announced on September 4 that Secretary of State Rubio will visit Colombia, Ecuador and Peru from September 8 to 10. The statement stated that Colombia, Ecuador and Peru are key partners of the United States in the Americas, and Rubio's visit aims to consolidate partnerships with these countries. He will meet with the leaders of the three countries to hold talks on issues such as combating drug terrorism and deepening economic and trade relations, and reiterate the Trump administration's commitment to maintaining the security and prosperity of the Western Hemisphere.