State Visit to Colombia - Day 1

Their Excellencies were officially welcomed by His Excellency Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, President of the Republic of Colombia, and by the First Lady María Clemencia Rodríguez Múnera.

Upon arrival in Bogotá, the capital city of the Republic of Colombia, Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston were greeted by Carmen Sylvain, Ambassador of Canada to Colombia, and by representatives of the Government of Colombia.

During the ceremony, the Governor General received military honours and inspected a guard of honour.

The ceremony took place at Casa de Nariño, the official home and workplace of the President of Colombia.

The State visit to the Republic of Colombia took place from December 3 to 6, 2014. The visit aimed to demonstrate Canada’s commitment in its ongoing peace-building and humanitarian work with respect to human rights, health and rural economic development.

The Governor General met with President Santos Calderón to discuss key areas of Colombian engagement with Canada.

Following their meeting, the Governor General and the President delivered statements and answered questions from members of the media.

Their Excellencies then took part in a State luncheon hosted by President Santos Calderón, in honour of their visit to the country. The President first delivered remarks on this occasion.

"Throughout my travel in Colombia, I hope to encourage young people here to come to Canada to study and to bring the message to Canadian youth that Colombia has much to offer in terms of learning opportunities," said His Excellency. "Upon my return, and drawing from all that I will see in the coming days, I hope to encourage Canadian students to look further afield, and specifically to emerging markets like Colombia, for educational opportunities."