Following a meeting last September with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda referred to the South American country as "a neighbor" of Japan only separated by the Pacific.
Now the countries are working to further shrink the distance by strengthening bilateral ties, most notably in the economic field.
"We're optimistic about (finalizing) the economic partnership agreement" between Japan and Colombia, visiting Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin told The Japan Times in an interview Feb. 23.