At the press conference given by President Álvaro Uribe, the Canadian Prime Minister said that he asked the Parliament to approve the trade agreement with Colombia “It is important to recognize the progress that Colombia has made. We encourage our friends in the hemisphere and make sure that they share the economic opportunities that we all want to see moving forward”, Harper pointed.  

Ottawa, Canada, June 10 (SP). Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper showed support for the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and Canada, after saying that the approval of the agreement will send a powerful message to the world about what must be done against protectionism.

Harper said that he asked the Canadian Parliament to approve the trade agreement with Colombia at a press conference given with President Alvaro Uribe Vélez in Ottawa.

“Now that President Uribe is here with me, it is important to make the point that passing the Colombian Free Trade Agreement would send a powerful message. It would send one here, it would send one in Washington and it would send one around the world. I call on Parliament to pass this Free Trade Agreement and send a clear message from Canada against protectionism” the Prime Minister stated.

In addition, he said that he was a strong ally not only for the FTA between both countries, but also for the trade agreement that Colombia signed with the United States.

“It is important to recognize the progress that Colombia has made and the progressive policies of the Colombian Government. We encourage our friends in the hemisphere and make sure that they share the economic opportunities that we all want to see moving forward”, he said.   

The Prime Minister insisted that the Canadian Parliament needs to pass this kind of trade agreements, for considering it, as vital for the best interests of the country and for an economic recovery.  

“We also believe this is important for Canada. We have an important opportunity to show leadership here in North America, during a time of a global recession, on the issue of promoting trade and fighting protectionism”, Harper pointed.

About it, he said that any mainstream opposition party that chooses, for ideological reason, to align itself with protectionism at this point in our history, will be making a serious mistake. 

“We can not afford to have our parliament parties led by people, and led by organizations that have an ideological opposition to free trade. We got over that in this country 20 years ago. We see the dangers of that in the United States and can not have that in Canada. So I will continue to promote this and I am confident that Parliament, if not Parliament the Canadian people will certainly continue to support us in that position” the Prime Minister highlighted.