UAE Foreign Minister, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, met with Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, at the Presidential Palace in the Colombian capital. Sheikh Abdullah handed him a letter from President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President & Sheikh Abdullah held meetings on ways to establish trade, economic relations and business contact.

Sheikh Abdullah said that such meetings underscores the commitment of the two countries, he also called for signing a few deals between the two contries in various fields.

dazzling UAE Royals Colombia, Official Visit, President Uribe, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed

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 On their third day in Bogotá, Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia and President Uribe and his wife, Lina Moreno, attended the official Opening of the “II Forum of Investments and Managerial Cooperation Spain – Colombia” at the El Nogal Club. In his speech Prince Felipe declared that Colombia is a country that has  good economic health and is deservedly considered one of the more stable states of the region.

During the offial opening of the forum, the Colombian minister for the economy, Oscar Iván Zuluaga, and the Spanish state secretary for trade, Silvia Iranzo, signed a cooperation agreement  for long-term credit of 235 million euros from Spain to Colombia in order to finance future productive projects.

Afterward, at the Spanish embassy in Colombia, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia granted an audience to the Honour Committee of the Independence Bicentenary, and had a lunch with representatives of Colombian intellectuals in order to have a close view of the Colombian society matters.
In the Afternoon the Spanish Heirs went to the Casa España in Bogotá to meet with the Spanish Community in Colombia.

Today it is expected that the Royal and the Presidential couples will travel to Medellin, where will take place the “V international Congress on Victims of terrorism”.

Paty Spanish Royals Colombia, Official Visit, President Uribe, Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Princess Letizia, Princess of Asturias

 Once the visit began, some media reported today about the Colombian expectations of this visit. The expectation is based on many factors. “One is for the ‘glamour’ which is seeing, from the Latin-American side, all that has to do with the European royal families, especially the Spanish ones, and because it is a visit in which the political content is not going to be absent, especially with the participation of Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia in the ‘V International on Victims of Terrorism’,” reported Fran Sevilla, correspondent of Spanish TV in Colombia, today.

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It is not a State Visit, and Prince Felipe is not a head of the state, but this is the treatment that the Colombian Government want to give to the first visit of the Prince and Princess of Asturias, to which the Colombian government grants a great importance due the good relations between both nations who are specially linked in terrorims issues.

The schedule is quite busy. Yesterday, May 27, they were received with state honours in the official welcome ceremony held at Nariño’s House parade ground, where an official meeting between the Prince of Asturias and President Uribe and a private meeting of Princess Letizia and Colombian First Lady, Lina Moreno, also took place.

From Nariño’s House, the Prince and the Princess went to Simon Bolivar Square to lay down flowers in front of the monument dedicated to the hero of the independence of the Andean states. Afterwards, Felipe and Letizia visited the Bogotá town hall, and met with the Mayor, Samuel Moreno, who presented Their Royal Highnesses with the key of the city and appointed them illustrious guests.

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At the town hall room called Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, the Prince declared that the Princess and he “feel, in some way, bogotanos (native of Bogota), and in this way also it pleases us to be able to express the respect and the affection that the Spaniards feel for this great nation… Its successes make us happy and we grow sad with its sufferings”

At midday, the Prince and Princess visited the Court House, and the Capitol where they had a meeting with representatives of both national institutions. In the evening, President Alvaro Uribe and his wife hosted an official dinner at Nariño’s house in honour of Bogota’s “illustrious guests”, the Prince and Princess of Asturias.

Paty Spanish Royals Colombia, Official Visit, President Uribe, Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Princess Letizia, Princess of Asturias

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 Yesterday afternoon Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia arrived at the Catam Airport, Bogotá, where they were welcomed by the Colombian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jaime Bermúdez, for a four-day official visit.

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In the evening Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, and his wife, Lina Moreno, hosted a welcome dinner in honour of Their Royal Highnesses at Nariño’s House.

Today, May 27, an official welcome ceremony will take place, and later the Prince and the Princess of Asturias will visit Colombia’s main institutions. In the evening President Uribe will host an official dinner.

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Paty Spanish Royals Colombia, Official Visit, President Uribe, Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Princess Letizia, Princess of Asturias

Photos at Casareal.es

After the state visit of President Nicholas Sarkozy, yesterday the King of Spain welcomed the President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, for a two-day official visit to Spain, although his visit was outshone by the French state visit.

President Uribe arrived in Spain on Tuesday, and while the Royal Family farewelled their French guests, Uribe meet with the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, at Moncloa Palace, where they talked about the bilateral relations between Colombia and Spain. The President also attended a meeting with Spanish company leaders in Madrid to discuss trade ties between Colombia and Spain

The main issue of the visit, apart from promoting Colombian tourism, is the delivery of the prize “Cortes de Cadiz a la Libertad” to President Alvaro Uribe. Yesterday the Prince and Princess of Asturias accompanied President Uribe to the Colombian embassy where the Mayor of Cadiz, Teofila Martinez, handed out the prize to acknowledge his contribution in favor of freedom and his efforts against terrorism.

Later on, a meeting took place between the King and President Uribe, prior to a lunch hosted by their Majesties.

Paty Spanish Royals Awards, Colombia, King Juan Carlos, Official Visit, President Uribe, Prime Minister Zapatero