Germany and Colombia enjoy friendly and increasingly close relations. Political dialogue, the German business community, academia, the cultural scene and development cooperation all play a part in fostering closer ties between the two countries.

Germany is Colombia’s fifth‑largest trading partner, with a trade volume of 53.6 billion euro (2023), and its largest within the EU. The German-Colombian Chamber of Industry and Commerce has over 300 members.

Development cooperation with Colombia focuses on peace and societal cohesion, including the issue of migration, on climate and energy, as well as on the environment and natural resources, in particular the protection of forests and biodiversity. In June 2023, Germany and Colombia signed an Alliance for the climate and a just energy transition. This bilateral engagement is supplemented with substantial funding for German NGOs and their local partners, in particular with regard to promoting access to land, water and sanitation, health, and the advancement of women.

In addition, Germany is providing humanitarian assistance for people affected by the internal conflict and for refugees from Venezuela. In the sphere of humanitarian mine and ordnance clearance, assistance is aimed at expansion of civilian capacities, investigation of contamination, and clearance, as well as at supporting mine victims and raising awareness of the risks.

Germany actively supported the in 2016 concluded peace process with the former guerrilla group FARC from the outset, both at national level and in the regions. Germany has assumed the role of an accompanying country in connection with the newly resumed peace talks with the ELN guerrilla group.

Furthermore, Germany is providing public funding for institutions whose efforts are helping to bolster work by civil society to foster peace in Colombia.

Academic relations between the two countries are close, as demonstrated by some 3700 Colombians studying at German universities, as well as by nearly 280 higher education cooperation projects, by researcher exchanges and by cooperation in the sphere of scholarship programmes.

The main pillars of academic relations are the Centre of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin) and the German-Colombian Peace Institute (CAPAZ).

Information about German development cooperation with Colombia can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.