Colombia’s President-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced plans to establish a resident embassy in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and expand his country’s diplomatic and economic engagement with Africa.
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De la Espriella disclosed the plan in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria following his national address ahead of his inauguration scheduled for August 7, 2026.
He said the proposed embassy would promote stronger trade, investment, cultural and diplomatic cooperation between Colombia and Nigeria, describing Nigeria as strategically important to his incoming administration’s renewed engagement with the African continent.
According to the president-elect, Nigeria’s economic influence and strategic position make it a priority as Colombia reviews its diplomatic presence across Africa and other parts of the world.
He said the establishment of a resident embassy would provide Colombia with a permanent diplomatic presence in Nigeria and create opportunities for both countries to deepen collaboration in commerce, investment, culture and other areas of mutual interest.
Colombia currently maintains an honorary consulate in Abuja headed by Maricel Romero Cantillo. Official Colombian records show that the consulate was established in 2020, with Cantillo serving as Honorary Consul for Nigeria. She was reappointed for another four-year term in 2025.
De la Espriella credited the honorary consul with helping to promote commercial and cultural ties between both countries but said the planned embassy would provide a more permanent platform for diplomatic engagement.
The proposed mission forms part of a broader restructuring of Colombia’s foreign service aimed at improving efficiency, reducing unnecessary expenditure and ensuring that diplomatic posts contribute meaningfully to the country’s foreign-policy objectives.
“We will determine whether all the embassies that remain open should continue as they are,” the president-elect said.
He explained that some diplomatic missions could be merged or administered through concurrent accreditation, under which one embassy represents Colombia in several neighbouring countries.
Despite the planned consolidation of other missions, De la Espriella said opening an embassy in Nigeria remained a priority because of the strategic opportunities available in Africa.
The incoming president has announced plans to close 14 Colombian embassies, including missions in Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia and Senegal, while maintaining relations with most of the affected countries through concurrent representation. He has also proposed closing about 15 consulates and merging separate missions maintained in the same cities.
The Nigerian mission is expected to coordinate Colombia’s diplomatic activities more efficiently across parts of Africa following the proposed closure of several existing embassies on the continent.
De la Espriella also announced that his administration would conduct a technical audit of Colombia’s diplomatic missions within its first 100 days in office.
He said the review would assess the effectiveness, cost and contribution of each embassy and consulate to Colombia’s national interests and foreign-policy objectives.
According to him, diplomatic missions that fail to produce meaningful results may be merged, restructured or replaced with concurrent accreditation arrangements.
De la Espriella maintained that Colombia needed a modern and efficient diplomatic service focused on advancing national interests rather than maintaining costly bureaucratic structures that produce limited benefits.
He expressed optimism that the proposed Nigerian embassy would strengthen relations between both countries and promote greater economic, cultural and strategic cooperation.
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