That was stated by the Leaders of Miami and Los Angeles, Manny Díaz and Antonio Villaraigosa, at the end of a meeting of President Uribe with several mayors of the United States. “What we mayors have said is that we support this Free Trade Agreement and we are going to work with the Congress to convince them that we have to do much more to increase trade and investment with Colombia”, Villaraigosa said.

Providence, Rhode Island, United States, June 12 (SP). Mayors of the United States, who held a meeting with President Álvaro Uribe Vélez this Friday in Providence, showed support for the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia, and in that sense, they made a commitment to work for the approval of this trade agreement by the Congress of the United States.

That was stated by the Leaders of Miami and Los Angeles, Manny Díaz and Antonio Villaraigosa, at the end of a meeting of President Uribe with several mayors of the United States, at the Providence Convention Center.

President Uribe held a private meeting with the mayors of Miami, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Boston.

“What we, United States mayors, have said is that we support the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia. In Los Angeles, we move around 44% of the United States trade that comes by ship. And the truth is that a Free Trade Agreement with Colombia is something that it will benefit Los Angeles”, the Mayor of this city said.

He declared that the Mayors will work with the United States Congress to convince them to approve the trade agreement, because there is “much to be done to increase trade and investment with Colombia and other Latin American countries”.

“We are going to work with our delegations in the Congress, because they are the ones who have to approve this free trade, we do not have jurisdiction as mayors. The truth is that we depend on trade and investment, and a Free Trade Agreement will not only help Colombia, but also cities as Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York, and many other cities of the United States”, Villaraigosa said. 
As for the Mayor of Miami, he reminded that in past years the United States mayor have helped important projects as Plan Colombia and the Free Trade Agreement.

“Mayors understand the importance, at our level, of trading between both countries, the importance to reinforce democracy all over Latin America, and also the importance of the friendship that this country has had with Colombia for many years. We are committed, and during this meeting we made a new commitment, to keep working with the congress to achieve this”, Mayor Manny Díaz said.

He affirmed that American local leaders felt “very proud” and “honored” to have the presence and participation of President Uribe during the United States Mayor Conference.