Italian minister for foreign affairs, Massimo D'Alema, recently held a meeting with vice president of Colombia, Francisco Santos Calderon, to discuss ways to improve bilateral trade.
Italy’s National Institute for Foreign Trade, ICE, described Colombia as a country that is at the forefront of foreign trade; a country that is economically free and open. It added that the country has an important geographical location as a member of the Andean Community of Nations—also comprising Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru—and benefiting from special customs agreements with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
In the last three years, Colombia has imported approximately 2,400 different types of product from Italy, totalling around €253 million ($340 million) in 2005. The ‘Made in Italy’ tag appears to be the most attractive element for the Colombian market with clothing and food products at the top of the list.
Colombian exports to Italy increased 13.6% to €512 million in 2005, with textiles and clothing, leather and chemical products among the most popular items.
