Colombia to open up new embassies in Asia by August

 Colombia will open new embassies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia by August, as part of its efforts to increase political and trade ties with Asia, the country's foreign minister said Sunday.

Meanwhile, Colombian ambassador to Japan Patricia Cardenas was assigned to "make all the necessary advances with the Asian countries where we tend not to have embassies," Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin was quoted by local every day "El Espectador" as saying.

Furthermore, in coming weeks Bogota is also "going to inaugurate trade offices, together with Chile, in Istanbul and Singapore," she said.

Holguin stated Colombia is operating on its bid to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a procedure began in 2008.

Free trade agreement talks with Asian nations are also underway, said the minister.

"We are starting with Turkey, next week arrives a delegation to start the negotiations. With Japan, for confident we're going to begin an additional (negotiation)," she added.

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