Establecimiento de nuevas relaciones diplomáticas con África: beneficios para el crecimiento económico de Colombia

Abstract

Context. Economic diplomacy is one of the branches of diplomacy that has taken special relevance in recent years, it has been studied and characterized as important within international relations and foreign policy. Colombia has faced the challenge of economic opening and insertion in international markets, having a weak diplomatic presence in continents such as Asia and Africa. During the last five years the country has maintained a negative trade balance, given the decrease in exports to the United States, the European Union and Panama. The establishment of new economic and trade relations broadens the country's export network and improves growth indicators. The research aims to explore those economic benefits that could be generated with the establishment of diplomatic relations with Africa, and which is in line with the implementation of the "Africa Strategy 2022-2026 with which the national government seeks to strengthen the ties of friendship between Colombia and African countries. Method. A non-experimental methodological design with a qualitative approach was applied for this research, based on the exploratory analysis and interpretation of documentary information from secondary and open sources, such as databases, official reports and market research. Using a data collection instrument of reading cards and a non-probabilistic sampling type, from which 5 African States were selected as a sample. Conclusion. Colombia's economic activity would benefit from promoting national companies and exporting value added products, both in the food and manufacturing sectors. This contributes to the internationalization of the economy, productive transformation and employment generation. The result is an open and competitive national economy with better macroeconomic indicators.