This morning, I had the pleasure of attending a reception at the House of Lords hosted by Ulster Unionist peer Lord Laird to celebrate the bicentenary Colombia's independence.
Aside from the poetic tributes from the assembled dignitaries to historic figures such as Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander, the celebration had little to do with the country's past and far more to do with its present.
Colombia has a lot to be proud of.
Under President Álvaro Uribe, the country has been turned from a lawless basket-case where political decisions were take on the basis of the whims of crime bosses to a largely-peaceful nation committed to principles of liberal democracy.
During the term of Uribe's Presidency, 51,000 FARC guerrilla paramilitaries have been demobilised leading to a 45% drop in homicides and 75% fall in terrorist attacks. While more work is needed to do to eliminate FARC, large parts of Colombia which had been terrorised by the group's activities for decades are now at peace.
On a regional level, the Uribe administration has pursued a pro-democracy policy which puts to shame the feeble efforts of Western nations. Far from joining the capitulation of the likes of Brazilian President Lula to figures such as Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, his government has stood firm in its commitment to human rights and refusal to join the chorus of populist rants against big business and the United States.
Because of this, inward investment to the country has grown threefold since 2003 with average quarterly growth rates of in excess of 4%. According to World Bank figures, Colombia is now in the top 14% of nations globally in terms of purchasing power. Crucially, the country has eschewed the economically protectionist talk of many of its near neighbours; opening its markets to foreign investment by lowering taxes and brushing away the molasses-like bureaucracy which holds back so many South American countries.
Barred from running for a third term, Uribe will hand the keys to the Presidential Palace to former Finance and Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos in just under three weeks. Elected on a clear pledge to continue Uribe's policies, he can be expected to provide something that is so rarely a positive thing in politics: more of the same.
William Hague is of course right to focus Britain's diplomatic efforts on strengthening ties with developing markets in India and China. I do hope, however, that time might also be found to forge meaningful partnerships with the governments of countries like Colombia whose agendas are every part Western-looking - and every bit Conservative.
Today, we Conservatives should all join in saying: "¡Viva Colombia, viva la libertad!
