BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that his country will impose visa requirements on British citizens, in retaliation for a decision made by the United Kingdom to remove Colombia from a list of countries whose nationals can visit Britain without a tourist visa.
In a message published on X, Petro said that due to “the principle of reciprocity” Colombia’s government will begin asking citizens of the UK for visas. He provided no more details on when the visa restrictions will come into effect.
Earlier on Tuesday, the United Kingdom announced that Colombian citizens will no longer be able to travel to that country without a visa. In a statement published on its social media platforms, the British embassy in Colombia said that over the past two years, there has been a “significant” increase in the number of Colombians who arrive at UK airports and make “unjustified” asylum claims.
The United Kingdom had lifted visa restrictions on Colombians in 2022. But its embassy in Bogota said that the recent rise in asylum claims from Colombians had forced the British government to reimpose visa requirements.
“Sadly, the abuses undertaken by a minority of Colombians who have traveled to the United Kingdom, have led our ministers to take this decision,” the statement reads.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Roy Barreras, Colombia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom said that more than 940 Colombians have made asylum claims in the United Kingdom this year, with some resorting to travel agencies that allegedly teach them how to cheat in their asylum applications. In 2021, only six Colombians made asylum claims in the UK, the ambassador said.
Over the past three years, hundreds of thousands of Colombians have fled to Europe and the United States. Economic stagnation and rising violence in some parts of the country, particularly from rebel groups and drug traffickers, have forced many to seek safety and opportunity abroad.
In 2022, U.S. border patrol agents conducted more than 165,000 arrests of Colombians at the Mexican border. This number decreased slightly to 155,000 in the following year.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Colombia's President Gustavo Petro delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of COP16, a United Nations' biodiversity conference, in Cali, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
SOFIA, Bulgaria--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2025--
Westinghouse Electric Company today announced the signing of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with seven Bulgarian suppliers to support the two-unit AP1000 ® project at the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant site. These agreements are a direct result of the second Westinghouse Bulgaria Supplier Symposium, which provided a forum for regional suppliers to learn more about supporting AP1000 projects globally.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250515080325/en/
The MoUs establish the potential for supplying a variety of products and services including cranes, logistics and transportation, electrical and industrial equipment, instrumentation and control equipment, and piping by Balkansko Echo EOOD, Bon Marine Ltd., Contragent 35 Ltd., El Kontrol EOOD, ELPROM Heavy Industries JSC, Kozloduy Ltd., and Zekalabs Ltd.
“We continue to make excellent progress on our Engineering Services Contract to deliver two advanced AP1000 reactors at the Kozloduy site, thanks in large part to the deeply experienced Bulgarian nuclear supply chain,” said Dan Lipman, President of Westinghouse Energy Systems. “With this supply chain expansion, we look to tap into the expertise of local construction, electrical and logistics suppliers, which will be critical in delivering the project on time and on budget.”
As part of its “buy where we build” philosophy of localization, Westinghouse has already signed MoUs with 30 Bulgarian suppliers to support the project. The Kozloduy project will also provide Bulgarian firms the opportunity to support other AP1000 projects in Europe and globally. Bulgarian companies can find more information about becoming a supplier on the Westinghouse Bulgaria website.
The AP1000 reactor is the only operating advanced Generation III+ reactor with fully passive safety systems, modular construction design and the smallest footprint per MWe on the market. There are six AP1000 reactors currently setting operational performance and availability records worldwide with 12 additional reactors under construction and four more under contract. There will be 18 units based on AP1000 technology in operation globally by the end of the decade. The AP1000 technology has also been selected for nuclear energy programs in Poland and Ukraine and is also under consideration at multiple other sites in Europe, the United Kingdom, India and North America.
Westinghouse Electric Company is shaping the future of carbon-free energy by providing safe, innovative nuclear and other clean power technologies and services globally. Westinghouse supplied the world’s first commercial pressurized water reactor in 1957 and the company’s technology is the basis for nearly one-half of the world's operating nuclear plants. Over 135 years of innovation makes Westinghouse the preferred partner for advanced technologies covering the complete nuclear energy life cycle. For more information, visit www.westinghousenuclear.com and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and X.
Westinghouse has signed MoUs with seven Bulgarian suppliers to support the Kozloduy AP1000® project.
