The US ambassador to Colombia met with Alvaro Leyva, the Secretary of State appointed by President Petro

Only 48 hours have passed since Colombia’s president-elect Gustavo Petro appointed Alvaro Leiva Duran as Minister of Foreign Affairs in his next government, and He has already had two crucial meetings of national diplomacy: the one with the US ambassador, Francisco El Palmieri, and with the head of the United Nations Verification Mission, Carlos Ruiz Maceo.

Through a post on Twitter, the American diplomat himself Confirmed the meeting with Leva, with whom they discussed the bonds of friendship with the North American country.

“We had a dialogue about our common interests, values, mutual respect, and partnership as the basis for the US-Colombia relationship.”The American diplomat confirmed.

On Friday, Palmieri had also participated in Commemorative Act of Two Hundred Years of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries, and said on that occasion, when referring to the new government, That there should be no changes in bilateral relations.

“Of course we will continue the relations between the two countries because we are two democracies,” he added. said the American diplomat.

Leva too He met the head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Maceo, on the same day that Petro announced a 79-year-old politician of conservative origin as his foreign minister, For what he hopes will be a State Department of Peace, says the president-elect.

The diplomat at the United Nations revealed that he had held a meeting with the new president to discuss that international organization’s support for the peace agreement Which took place in November 2016 by the Colombian government and former guerrilla FARC.

Important meeting with President-elect Gustavo and Minister-designate Alvaro Leyva to discuss UN support for his policy for full peace. We reaffirm our support for Colombia to work for the consolidation of peace,” Ruiz Maceo said in another post on Twitter.

The diplomat attached this message with a picture in which he appeared with Petro, Leyva and the second man of the United Nations Verification Mission, Uruguayan Raul Rosendi.

Petro, who was elected president in the second round on June 19, will take office on August 7 to succeed Evan Duque, the current president, and The only announcement of his cabinet made by the elected president so far is the announcement of Leva as Minister of Foreign Affairs and it is expected that other names will be announced in the coming days, especially the name of the Minister of Finance, A decision that the financial markets are eagerly awaiting.

Specifically, about who will be the owner of this wallet There is speculation that Petro will appoint Jose Antonio Ocampo after his founding, According to an article in El Tiempo newspaper, This is an economist from the University of Notre Dame (USA) and a Ph.D. in economics and political science from Yale University He leads the president-elect’s advisors on economic and conservative issues.

Bogota newspaper reported that Ocampo He is currently a professor at Columbia University and is a co-author of books with the Nobel laureate in economics, Jose Stiglitz. In his biography he was Minister of Agriculture under President Ernesto Samper, But he is also one of the world’s most famous Colombian economists.

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