After three rounds of negotiations that began in April 2008, Colombia and India today signed the Agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments. The Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism Luis Guillermo Plata, who is visiting in this country, said the Investment Agreement seeks to encourage and protect not only the attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from India to Colombia, but also of Colombia to India. "What we are doing is creating links so that the investment grows. Today we already see Indian investment in Colombia that even though still small, it begins to grow, "said Silver, who noted that the cumulative flow of FDI from India in Colombia during the period 2002 - 2008, totaled 1.6 million dollars. During his visit to India, an official in Mumbai will hold meetings with representatives of the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, packaging and biofuels, in search of trade opportunities, investment and knowledge of production experiences. Also will have bilateral meetings with trade ministers, Anand Sharma, Finance, Pranab Mukherjee and Foreign Affairs, Shri SM Krishna. Step Agreement Once signed the agreement, goes into effect when you have not had any internal procedures in each country. In the case of India, for the signing of this agreement must be approved by cabinet members and later by the Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh). Then, it will require ratification by the part of India. In the case of Colombia, after the signing of the agreement to be ratified before it becomes valid, it must pass through Congress and the Constitutional Court.
