Colombia Joins NATO Alliance

The president of Colombia visited NATO headquarters in Belgium Thursday to mark the country's joining the military alliance as its first Latin American partner.

President Juan Manuel Santos walked through NATO headquarters in Brussels with the organization's Secretary General before holding a news conference.

Colombia and the 29-member alliance plan to collaborate in several areas, including mine removal in Colombia, military equipmnt, and training.

"Our partnership is based on our shared commitment to international peace and stability and over the past five years, our cooperation has provided real benefits both to Colombia and to NATO," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Santos said Colombia also plans to contribute to the alliance by sharing its experience in conflict resolution, the fight against drug trafficking and response to natural disasters.

Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize for ending a five-decade-old conflict in his country by signing a peace accord with the "FARC" guerilla movement in 2016.

Before his visit to NATO, Santos met with the European Union's top official at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels.