Investors are looking at Colombia with rising interest. The country’s economy is set to grow between 5% and 6% this year, according to government estimates, faster than the Latin American average of about 4.5%. Colombia has tamed its drug traffickers, quelling the violence that ran hand in hand with it, and has recaptured much of the land that had been illegally appropriated. Colombians now feel safe to travel by road through the countryside – something that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago.
Invigorated by the efforts of the country’s previous president, Alvaro Uribe, to end violence and illegal activities, Colombia has aggressively started attracting foreign investors and is presenting itself as a welcoming gateway to Latin America. The slogan created a few years ago – “the only risk is wanting to stay” – feels right in the context of the beauty of some corners of the country. Cartagena is a prime example – a city on the Caribbean Sea, with a historic walled centre that has been named a Unesco world heritage site.
