The CELAC-AFRICA 2026 Forum is a historic event that anchors the consolidation of a process to build a solid Interregional community, from the perspective and principles of South-South Cooperation, Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism.
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Colombia has maintained diplomatic relations with sub-Saharan African countries since the 1980s. However, the country was present in this part of Africa without much visibility or relevance. For this reason,the Africa2022-2026 foreign policystrategy was definedand implemented,expanding the presenceon acontinent that brings together the largest number of countries, home to 54 sovereign states, about 20% of the world's population, promising economic growth and significant geopolitical influence in multilateral forums, through the leadership and political weight of countries such as South Africa and the African Union consensus, both permanent members of the G20.
Despite the development ofthe Strategy,in general,Colombians understand littleabout thereason for thediplomatic activities thatthe governmentdevelops in Africancountries. This lackof knowledgemakes it inconceivable in certain political sectors and society that the government "spends" resources on official trips, opening of embassies or developing international events. Therefore, the importance of the First CELAC-AFRICA 2026 High-Level Forum, held from March 18 to 21, within the framework of the X Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), chaired by Colombia between 2025-2026, and whose presidency was handed over to Uruguay at the Summit.
Africa Strategy
The Africa Strategy 2022-2026has soughtto expandthe presenceon thecontinent and to develop a policy of unprecedented reunion and relationship, opening new horizons of commercial, scientific, cultural, academic and political exchange, through forms of diversifieddiplomacy. In the development of the Strategy, Vice President Francia Márquez Mina undertook four official working visits, reaching South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Gabon, Togo, Nigeria and Senegal. These visits promoted the signing and development of various cooperation and exchange agreements that have boosted diplomacy with the continent.
In this same vein, the CELAC-AFRICA 2026 High-Level Forum was held in Bogotá; a meeting of unprecedented magnitude, which marked a milestone in the history of this regional consultation platform, as well as a milestone in the history of bilateral and regional relations with the continent.
The Forum, in short, served as a Platform for Multilateral Diplomacy that facilitated exchange and relations among the participating States. It fostered inclusive, proactive and concrete dialogue between regions that established the foundations for CELAC and the African Union to define a route of agreements and joint work to structure technical and trade cooperation strategies; investment and articulations between the banks for development; solidarities and commitments to action in the face of the needs of global peace, the control of the environmental crisis and the setbacks of multilateralism, as well as strategies to advance jointly reparation purposes for Africa and its Afro-descendant Diaspora.
This righteous multilateral effort was echoed on March 25, when 123 states supported Ghana's proposal to declare the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity[i], at the United Nations General Assembly.
All these issues, in addition to being the foundation of the Africa Strategy, are key to the 2030 and 2065 sustainable development agendas to close the enormous inequality gaps that overwhelm our countries.
The Southern African Region and South Africa's Leadership
South Africa is home to one of the eight Colombian Embassies on the continent, with fourteen accredited non-resident embassies under its Mission. With the Africa Strategy 2022-2026, more than thirty years of cordial relations had a new impetus with the official visit of the Vice President to South Africa in May 2023. Some products of these visits are; the first trade delegation of women-led businesses under the "She Exports to Africa" program in August 2024; the development of cultural and educational agreements; the promotion of a renewed image of Colombia in this country; the holding of the inaugural session of the Political Consultation Mechanism in July 2025 that will continue every two years, and several cooperation instruments, including on trade, that are in the process of being signed.
The Vice President also carried out working visits to Mozambique and Madagascar in 2025, promoting the opening of opportunities for cooperation and commercial, productive and technical exchange. This year, under the organization of ProColombia and the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the Free and Productive Women Fund, the second commercial visit will be made to South Africa and the first to Angola and Mozambique, identifying these three countries with high potential to boost the bilateral and regional market and investment.
In the High-Level segment between leaders and governments of the CELAC-AFRICA Forum in Bogotá, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of South Africa, Anna Thandi Moraka[ii], pointed out the need to implement processes that harmonize objectives and goals to create a meaningful value chain, and develop, through cohesion around a common purpose, the economic growth of the continent. "Our response [to the current global order] cannot be fragmentation, instead we must strengthen cooperation, diversify relations and ensure that our developing countries can concretely participate in the global value chain", said the Deputy Minister; which is a position that Colombia fully shares.
Colombia's progress, through the Africa Strategy 2022-2026 and the development of the CELAC-AFRICA 2026 Forum, are examples of Colombia's commitment to seek, not only ways to guarantee its own growth, but also to contribute to the development of the continent, under the principles of South-South Cooperation and Ubuntu. To this end, Colombia is working, through the Embassy, to consolidate diplomatic relations and bilateral and regional cooperation, projecting multi-country and triangular cooperation objectives through the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), which current interim chair is South Africa.
Colombia shares with South Africa a solid position with respect to multilateral cooperation and the need to reform its institutions, the respectful exercise of international laws and the sovereignty of States, the pursuit of peace at the global level, the strengthening of democracy and the principles of South-South Cooperation (CCS), which are the central pillars of a modern and progressive multilateral policy. This shared approach has been reflected in their recent collaboration within the Hague Group, a group of states formed to uphold international law and develop joint actions in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
South Africa is a voice that resonates both in the States of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Africa and globally; Colombia recognizes and values this leadership.
Towards an interregional platform
Colombia will continue to have a decisive presence in CELAC as part of its troika, which represents an opportunity to continue leading the way towards the institutionalization and creation of a CELAC-AFRICA SUMMIT. This vision, established from the Africa Strategy, proposes interregional integration to define policies that enhance opportunities for cooperation, alliances and exchanges in and between the global south, consolidating tangible achievements in sustainable development, social justice and equity.
In this way, Colombia once again demonstrated its regional leadership, convening wills to dialogue and propose joint solutions to common challenges. The CELAC-AFRICA 2026 Forum is a historic event that anchors the consolidation of a process to build a solid Interregional community from the perspective and principles of South-South Cooperation, Ubuntu and Pan-Africanism.
Thus, the audacity to think about regional integration with Africa to promote common interests and actions collectively, defined the success of the First CELAC-AFRICA 2026 High-Level Forum as an exceptional exercise in multilateral diplomacy led by Colombia.
#ColombiaEnAfrica #EstrategiaAfrica
Pretoria, March 2026
[i]https://press.un.org/en/2026/ga12755.doc.htm
