Colombia Opens Embassy in Senegal

Colombia is opening its first embassy in Senegal, a country in West Africa. Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo appointed Claudia Mosquera Rosero as the first Colombian ambassador to Senegal last week, in a move to strengthen Colombia’s presence in Africa. Similarly to other appointments under the Petro administration, Mosquera Rosero is not a professional diplomat.

“Colombia has much to learn, and Africa also has much to learn from Colombia’s experiences in many sectors,” said the Foreign Minister. The opening of an embassy in Senegal contributes to the progression of a diplomatic network that is currently underdeveloped in Africa.

Colombia and Africa

Colombia operates embassies in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa, as well as offering consular services in these countries. These Colombian consular services are also found in Angola, Benin, Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria and Uganda. On the other hand, only Algeria, Egypt and Morocco have embassies in Colombia, with no diplomatic missions of Sub-Saharan countries.

The Petro administration is looking to boost Colombia’s presence in Africa. As part of the National Development Plan, Colombia has an official Africa Strategy covering 2022-2026, aiming to strengthen their diplomatic ties with African countries.

Vice-President Francia Marquez conducted an unprecedented tour in Africa as part of this foreign policy, in which she made official visits to South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia in May 2023.

The opening of an embassy in Senegal comes as a move to explore partnerships with French-speaking countries in Africa. “Colombia has lacked a relationship with French-speaking Africa,” stated Minister Murrilo, adding that it is “that area of the continent where we have stronger connections.”

Trade between Colombia and Africa amounted to just over one billion dollars in 2023, representing about 2 percent of Colombia’s trade. This trade relationship is very favorable to Colombia, which has a positive trade balance with the continent, mainly exporting oil, coal, as well as coffee and cattle. Colombia’s major African trade partners include Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.

Colombia as an African diaspora country

After Brazil and the US, Colombia hosts the third largest African diaspora in the world. As of 2018, 9.34 percent of Colombians were recognized as members of the African community. Unofficial studies, however, raise this figure to 15 or even 25 percent.

President Petro has given unprecedented attention to the Afro-Colombian community since the beginning of his term, appointing Francia Marquez as Vice President and Luis Gilberto Murillo as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Recently, members of the Colombian Supreme Court elected an Afro-Colombian, Gerson Chaverra Castro, as president of their institution for the first time.