Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe went in search of investment from China and Japan at the start of April. The importance the president afforded to the visit, which also took in the 46th annual governors meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), was indicated by his delegation: accompanying Uribe were his foreign minister, Carolina Barco, the communications minister, Marta Helena Pinto, the education minister, Marí­a Cecilia White, the trade minister, Jorge Humberto Botero, and the minister for mines and energy, Luis Ernesto Mejí­a.

China

Uribe's first port of call was Beijing on 6 April, where he became the first Colombian president to visit China. His intentions were clear: to make sure Colombia did not miss out on the billions of dollars China is currently investing in Latin America, chiefly in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela. However while those three countries have left-wing governments (albeit of differing natures), Colombia's is arguably the most right-wing in Latin America.

With this in mind, Uribe's trip to Beijing can be considered a success. Following a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao on 11 April, the two countries established the so-called "Association in Progress", a bilateral commission which will seek to enhance business ties between the two countries. Colombia is most keen to attract Chinese investment in two sectors: oil and telecommunications.

The oil sector in Colombia is suffering from chronic underinvestment, and Colombia is set to become a net importer of oil within the next two years. Given that securing energy supplies to fuel its economic growth is one of China's main foreign-policy priorities, the mutual advantages seem obvious. "There must be oil in Colombia since next door to us Venezuela produces 3m barrels a day and Ecuador 600,000," Uribe told Chinese businessmen. "But 87% of Colombian territory has yet to be explored." The Colombian president invited Chinese firms to invest not only in exploration, but also in a pipeline project taking Venezuelan oil across Colombia to its Pacific coast.

In other agreements, President Hu said that he would consider whether to make Colombia an authorised travel destination for Chinese tourists. Uribe said that were China to do so his government would make it far easier for Chinese companies to get visas to come to Colombia.

Japan

President Uribe meanwhile took the message to Japan that Colombia is now a safe place to invest funds. "Restore your confidence in my country," Uribe told Japanese businessmen in Okinawa on 10 April. "Please go to Colombia and see with your own eyes the progress we have made in security."

Uribe's focus was not just on convincing Japan that he is winning the war against left-wing insurgent groups, but also on stressing that Colombia's financial situation is also clear of its former uncertainty. The president said that he would push forward with financial and judicial reforms until the last day of his presidency, and that he respected the Colombian central bank's independence to shape the country's exchange-rate policy.

At a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Uribe proposed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Japan. The president said the deal could follow a similar framework to FTAs Japan has completed with Mexico and is discussing with Chile.

The centrepiece of Japan's investment plans in Colombia is the Túnel de La Lí­nea, a government project to dig a tunnel through the Andes in order to link the west of Colombia to the centre. Uribe said that his government is close to having an official estimate on how much the project will cost and that he is confident Japan will finance the tunnel.

On the political front, Uribe said he would consider backing Japan's bid to gain a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. Given this very issue partly lies behind a recent deterioration in relations between China and Japan, the lack of commitment seemed diplomatic in the circumstances.

• Malaysian embassy sought
  Colombia wants Malaysia to open an embassy in Bogotá. The Colombian ambassador in Kuala Lumpur met the Malaysian foreign minister, Hamid Albar, on 20 April to discuss the issue. The Colombians say that there is plenty of scope for increasing trade in petrochemicals and plastic; palm oil; textiles and information and communication technology. The Colombians and also interested in going into joint ventures in the energy industry with the Malaysian state oil company, Petronas.