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BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia will next week formally join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, making it the only Latin American nation in the alliance, President Juan Manuel Santos said late on Friday.
Colombia will join as a “global partner”, Santos said, which means it will not necessarily have to take part in military action, and will be fully accredited in Brussels.
NATO's "global partners" maintain cooperation in areas of "mutual interest", particularly on security issues, and can actively contribute to joint actions, including military action, according to the organization.
Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan are NATO's "global partners" to join Colombia.
The 29-nation NATO alliance reached a partnership agreement with Colombia back in May 2017, just after peace was signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, an agreement that earned Santos a Nobel Peace Prize.
The purpose of the exercise is to create guidelines for disaster relief in the triple Amazon border region. Simulations on how to assist victims of forest fires, earthquakes, droughts, floods, and ship accidents will be performed.
Soldiers will also practice on how to deal with large contingents of human migrations, as in the case of refugees.
originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: nwtrucker
Ukraine was denied entry as an actual NATO member. They were however part of NATO's Partnership for Peace program which is a more formal partnership than what Colombia is a part of. Partnership for Peace countries get to take part in the EAPC along with all NATO members.
"Global partners" are pretty much any country that sees their goals aligning with NATO and are willing to do business. It's nothing more than that and they are not tied in to any of the NATO articles.
originally posted by: vinifalou
Venezuela said this action threatens the peace in Latin America and the Caribbean, which always kept distance from the warlike policies and actions of NATO and any other military or military organization that seeks to appeal to the use of force and suffering of people to impose and guarantee hegemony of a particular political and economic mode.
Partners across the globe
In addition to its formal partnerships, NATO cooperates with a range of countries which are not part of these structures. Often referred to as "Partners across the globe", these countries develop cooperation with NATO in areas of mutual interest, including emerging security challenges, and some contribute actively to NATO operations either militarily or in some other way.
originally posted by: vinifalou
a reply to: Xcalibur254
Obviously it's just speculation, but this is the first step for Colombia to become a major partner and get a role in military actions. Colombia is the most militarized country in this area, it's not a coincidence.