Colombia is first Latin American nation to join Nato as 'global partner'

One year after reaching partnership deal through a peace agreement with South America, Colombia on Friday (local time) has formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

As reported by the Deutsche Welle, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the formalising of its global partner status.

"We will formalize in Brussels next week - and this is very important - Colombia's entry into NATO in the category of the global partner. We will be the only country in Latin America with this privilege," Santos said in a televised address.

Colombia joined the ranks of Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

The announcement was made on the same day that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that Colombia would be officially invited to join the group.