Colombia highlights common history in Africa push

Speaking in Abuja in September last year, Colombia's vice-president, Francia Márquez, emphasised the deep potential she sees for stronger ties between Bogotá and the African continent. Having explored commercial opportunities with her Nigerian counterparts in fields including technology, manufacturing, agriculture and renewables, Márquez stated that Colombia aims to establish wide-ranging relationships with Abuja and other key African partners.

"We will work together for social development, social justice, peace and security for our people," she said.

Colombia's first vice-president of African heritage, Márquez has sought to prioritise relations with the continent since coming to office in August 2022. This priority has been shared by President Gustavo Petro, who during his inauguration speech said that Colombia would "seek greater alliances with Africa, where we originate from" as well as "an alliance of Afro-descendant communities in the Americas".

With at least 10% of the Colombian population of 53m of African heritage, and the country being home to the second-largest African diaspora in Latin America after Brazil, Márquez has often framed deeper diplomatic relations between Colombia and the continent as a natural fit.

During a tour of South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia in 2023 - the first official trip to Africa by a Colombian leader in almost three decades - Márquez drew on this shared history and heritage. "I am the first Afro-descendant woman vice-president of our country to come here," she said. "My ancestors left these lands 400 years ago in slavery and today I am coming back in freedom, without chains, and as vice-president of the Republic of Colombia."

Márquez and the Petro administration in Bogotá have sought to build on these cultural ties to establish stronger diplomatic and economic relations, which have traditionally been underexploited. Márquez criticised previous governments for the country having "turned its back on the African continent" and in 2023 declared "an unprecedented rapprochement with the continent".

Opportunity for trade growth

Trade between the two sides remains somewhat limited: data in 2022 showed that no African country ranked among Colombia's top 30 trading partners. A 2023 report from the International Trade Centre (ITC), a United Nations development agency, noted that "Colombia has so far been a small trade partner for Africa," but that the importance of the African market is growing for Bogotá.

Whereas Colombia's total annual export growth to the world averaged 6% between 2001 and 2021, exports to Africa grew by 16% a year in the same period. In 2022 exports from Colombia to Africa reached $907m, 126% higher than in 2021, likely driven by price increases in minerals and fertilisers. Africa's exports to Colombia were significantly lower at $255m but were still up 73% compared to the year before.

While this trade is relatively small by global standards, the ITC believes that there is considerable opportunity for growth. The organisation calculated that Africa currently realises just 20% of its export potential in the Colombian market, with Bogotá similarly exploiting less than 15% of its potential for Africa.

Of Colombian exports to Africa, 73% are of fossil fuels, live animals and food products. Fertilisers, clothing and seafood make up the bulk of African goods sent to Colombia, however just eight African countries account for 92% of export products. The ITC argues that Africa could add up to $160m in exports to Colombia per year by 2027, and Colombia could increase trade volumes by $237m annually in the same period.

Colombia does not have any bilateral free trade agreements with African countries, nor with regional bodies. Colombian exports face an average tariff rate of 12.6% when sending goods to the continent, with African exporters being hit by an average of 5.8%.

The ITC notes that non-tariff measures are further dampening these trade flows, particularly between Colombia and smaller African markets. "Regulatory requirements affecting both exports and imports can hinder trade because they are plentiful and often imply high fees and charges for traders," the organisation says. "The effect of these requirements are more pronounced when exporting to relatively small markets as the fixed cost to overcome the obstacles is high compared to the potential gains."

Bringing down freight costs

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to increased Colombia-Africa trade is a lack of connectivity and high transport costs. The African Development Bank (AfDB) notes that handling costs in African ports tend to be 50% higher than in other global markets.

Improving connectivity has thus been a key focus of talks between Colombia and Africa so far. In December last year Colombian officials visited the Port of Lomé in Togo with a view to fostering stronger intercontinental trade flows.

Alfonso Soria, director of Colombia's trade promotion board Procolombia, said "the visit allowed us to identify opportunities to strengthen the connection between Colombian companies and strategic stakeholders in Togo, advancing processes that promote trade and bilateral cooperation."

During Márquez's visit to Abuja in September last year, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu also said that he would replicate a deal previously struck with Brazil to improve aviation links with Colombia. Nigerian airline Air Peace has run three weekly flights between Lagos and Sao Paulo since November 2023, and Márquez has expressed optimism on more direct flights between Nigeria and Colombia.

Following the reopening of the Colombian embassy in Addis Ababa in August last year, the Colombian ambassador to Ethiopia, Yeison Arcadio Meneses Copete, underscored the importance of Ethiopian Airlines in boosting connectivity.

Geopolitical alignment

Colombia's foreign policy has largely been aligned with key African countries, such as South Africa. In April 2024, for example, Bogotá joined Pretoria's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Colombian government is reported to have submitted legal arguments in support of South Africa's case that Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza. Like South Africa, Colombia has also come under pressure from the United States, particularly since the Trump administration seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolás Maduro in Caracas in January this year. Following that operation Trump said President Petro should "watch his ass".

The US president, who has accused Colombia of drug trafficking failings, has openly said that a military operation against Colombia "sounds good," and Petro believes there is a "real threat" of US action.

Analysts say an increasingly belligerent White House could galvanise ties between middle-power countries such as South Africa, Brazil, India - and perhaps now Colombia too - which have all been targeted with military threats or punitive tariffs.

Menzi Ndhlovu, senior country risk analyst at the Signal Risk consultancy in Johannesburg, previously told African Business that "I would not be surprised if we start seeing a coalition of the aggrieved come around and start to build an international trading network in an attempt to insulate themselves from some of the haphazard actions of the United States."

This month the Colombian capital is hosting the first "Community of Latin American and Caribbean States-Africa High-Level Forum," which has the aim of "strengthening political, economic and cultural ties between Latin America, the Caribbean and the African continent".

Petro and Márquez's time in office is, however, drawing to a close in August, with neither standing in presidential elections in May this year. It remains to be seen whether the new administration will respond to a more volatile White House by concentrating on its home region or further strengthening ties with Africa and the wider Global South.