On the afternoon of May 21 local time, at the invitation of President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, Premier Li Keqiang arrived by special plane at the CATAM (Comando Aéreo de Transporte Militar) military airport in Bogotá, capital of Colombia, starting his official visit to Colombia. Mme. Cheng Hong, wife of Premier Li Keqiang, arrived by the same plane.

Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia greeted Li Keqiang at the airport. The Air Force honor guard of Colombia lined up at each side of the red carpet and the military band played the march to salute Premier Li Keqiang and his wife. H.E. Wang Xiaoyuan, Chinese Ambassador to Colombia, also greeted Li Keqiang at the airport.

Li Keqiang noted that Colombia is an important Latin American country. In recent years, China-Colombia relations have ushered in a new era and faced new opportunities. The development of practical cooperation in various fields is picking up speed. My visit to Colombia on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Colombia signifies that China will, together with Colombia, consolidate traditional friendship, tap into complementary advantages, focus on exploring cooperation on infrastructure construction, production capacity, equipment manufacturing, agriculture and other fields, boost people-to-people and cultural exchanges in a future-oriented manner and support the peace process as well as social and economic development in Colombia with tangible results of mutually beneficial cooperation so as to facilitate common development and prosperity of the two countries.

During the visit, Li Keqiang and President Juan Manuel Santos will hold talks and jointly meet the press, and attend a seminar on people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and Latin America.

Li Keqiang and his wife Mme. Cheng Hong arrived in Bogotá after concluding the successful official visit to Brazil. When leaving Rio de Janeiro of Brazil, senior officials from the Federal government of Brazil and the state government of Rio de Janeiro as well as H.E. Li Jinzhang, Chinese Ambassador to Brazil, saw them off at the airport.