• Charles Sturt first Australian university to host a 1.5 track dialogue in Latin America
• Australia-Colombia Dialogue to promote relationship between the two countries
• Forum attended by 150 Australian and Colombian government and non-government officials

Charles Sturt University (Charles Sturt) recently hosted the inaugural Australia-Colombia Dialogue in Bogota, Colombia, making it the first Australian university to organise a dialogue at that level in Latin America.

The Australia-Colombia Dialogue brought together 150 government and non-government officials from Australia and Colombia in order to promote and create new trade, academic, security, and public-diplomacy opportunities between the two countries.

Representatives from the mining, energy, education, tourism, arts, and foreign policy sectors attended the forum on Thursday 20 June.

Charles Sturt lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Professor Cesar Alvarez said the dialogue’s intent was to provide a forum that encouraged and developed conversations and opportunities between the two nations.

“Unlike industry forums, the Australia-Colombia Dialogue gives people and organisations the opportunity to meet across industry and government organisations,” Professor Alvarez said.

Professor Alvarez said the dialogue is also an opportunity to increase the visibility of the existing connections between Australia and Colombia.

“There are 88 Australian companies that have invested in Colombia and Australia opened its first embassy there in June 2017,” he said.

“Colombia has now become the second source country, after China, for international students coming to Australia to study English. As of June, there are around 17,000 Colombian students in Australia.”

At the dialogue’s gala dinner event two Colombian police officers were awarded Australian Federal Police scholarships to study at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security in Canberra.

The dialogue was supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Council on Australia Latin American Relations which provided initial funding to develop the forum.