Nobel-winning Colombian president begins UK state visit

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON

The first-ever state visit by a Colombian president to the U.K. started Tuesday as recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos arrived in London.

President Santos’s visit came after a public vote rejected the terms of a historic peace deal aimed at ending 52 years of conflict between the government and leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas.

The visiting president -- who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the attempted peace deal -- was formally welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II, the U.K. head of state.

The Colombian deal was signed on Sept. 26 after long negotiations to end the armed conflict, which killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions.

However, the Colombian public rejected the deal by a slight margin after 50.21 percent of voters said “No”.

Santos will meet Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday at a working lunch at Downing Street and attend events at Mansion House, the Natural History Museum and the London School of Economics, a government statement said.

The Colombian president is also to meet Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who will give his guest a private tour of the Cabinet War Rooms.

“We are delighted to welcome President Santos to the U.K. Britain works hand-in-hand with Colombia on the world stage whenever the occasion demands,” Johnson said in a statement.

“Colombia is on the verge of a historic peace agreement and...we will continue to support President Santos and the people of Colombia as they work to secure lasting peace,” Johnson added.

Santos will also visit Belfast on Thursday to hear about Northern Ireland’s experience in its 1998 peace deal which largely ended decades of violence between Irish nationalists, British armed forces and pro-British unionists.