Japan, Colombia to start investment pact talks soon+

LIMA, Nov. 22 Kyodo - Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said Friday that Japan and Colombia plan to launch negotiations for a bilateral investment pact, probably in January, as part of efforts to beef up bilateral economic ties.

After meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Foreign Minister Jaime
Bermudez in the Colombian capital, Nakasone told a news conference that
Colombia ''will become an important partner in the Asia Pacific region.''
''Since (both nations) have agreed to launch negotiations, I want to start as
soon as possible,'' he said.
Nakasone made a two-day visit to Colombia from Thursday after attending an
annual ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in
Lima on Wednesday and Thursday.
It is the first visit by a Japanese Cabinet member in 23 years since then
Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe visited the country in 1985.
Japan is scheduled to chair a series of APEC meetings in 2010. Colombia hopes
to join the 21-member Pacific Rim forum.
Nakasone said Colombia's accession to APEC is ''not a matter to be decided by
one country'' but he is fully aware of the request.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the
Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and
Vietnam.