Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador. I apologise for my late arrival but I got the important parts of his presentation.

He emphasised trade, and I know a number of foreign trade agreements have been entered into. We in Ireland have very little trade with South America and it is opportune that he is here because I am sure it is the Government's intention to try to develop our trade with the South American countries, of which Colombia is one.

My interest is concentrated on the peace process in Colombia. Last December I spoke at a conference in Bogotá, at which I was asked to do a paper on disarmament and the decommissioning which was a major part of the peace negotiations in Ireland and its relevance to Colombia. While I was there I had the opportunity to see places, in particular the area around the Independence Memorial. I also visited to Cartagena, which is a beautiful spot. Colombia is a lovely country.

There have been many decades of guerrilla activity. As we found in Ireland, the root cause to some extent of what happened was inequality and ill treatment of a particular section of the community. I think that has been a feature in Colombia. I invite the ambassador to talk a little about that and in particular about the efforts that are being undertaken to ensure greater equality and treatment of people. A colleague, who is not present, told me recently he visited some of the prisons in Colombia and was concerned with regard to the conditions in which these prisoners are being held.

I know that aspects of the negotiations have been provisionally agreed but I think the policy, which is correct, is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This is a sensible approach in these difficult situations.

Will Mr. Osorio give some outline indication as to the detail of the disposal of agricultural land in rural areas, a core part of the campaign of FARC? I understand that the issue of illicit drugs, which I considered a particularly difficult matter, has been concluded. When I studied Colombia, I thought that dealing with the issue of illicit drugs would be particularly difficult. Much of the income of the small landholdings comes from growing the drugs. Obviously we in the western world would like to see that crop outlawed, but how does one provide replacement activities for the people living in those rural areas? When I was in Colombia I had the opportunity of meeting President Santos, who told me he had visited Northern Ireland. He was very committed to bringing the negotiations to a satisfactory conclusion. We encourage him and the delegates present to continue to do that. There will be setbacks along the way and one will face disappointments but above all one must have the perseverance to stay with the process and ultimately have a sustainable agreement that will serve the interests of the people of Colombia.