Quotes from Juan Manuel Santos

Good friends don't have to visit each other every day.

If you go around Colombia or Latin America, without doubt you will find that 80 per cent of the time, you're discussing the past and only 20 per cent about the future.

That's what peace processes are about - changing bullets for votes.

Democracy is like three oxen pulling a plough. The oxen are the independent powers, but you have to walk in the same direction; otherwise, you cannot plough and that is what was happening in Colombia. One ox was walking in one direction, the other in another direction, so the democracy was not working.

No one has hit the FARC harder than I. But all wars have to end at some point, and that requires a negotiated solution.

I think that we are trying to move towards the First World slowly but surely. But we must do a good job for the people left way behind. That's why extreme poverty, for us, is a priority.

I practice Transcendental Meditation and I had enough exercise. I am one who thinks that not only need to have patience, we must persevere. If you do it right you'll see results.

One doesn't make peace with one's friends. One makes peace with one's enemies.

Social housing, education, health, jobs and sustainable surroundings. Those are my priorities.

The notion that you do not negotiate with terrorists is not the history of humanity or of the world.

I want total peace for Colombia.

The FARC has given up their arms. They are now a political party. They are now doing politics, which is what a peace process was all about.

There have been many examples in the world of people doing crazy things because they want to keep war going.

Corruption is one of the high priorities of my agenda.

Protectionism is something that will hurt everybody, but especially the United States.

I am a believer in free trade, fair free trade.

People in the U.K. don't imagine what it is to live in extreme poverty here in Colombia or anywhere in the so-called Third World.

Anybody who doesn't see the impact of climate change is really, I would say, myopic. They don't see the reality. It's so evident that we are destroying Mother Earth. This is not the problem of one country or a few countries: it is the problem of mankind. We need to work together to stop this. Otherwise, our future generations will simply disappear.

Uribe and I have very good relations. I owe him loyalty, I admire him, he did great things for our country, and I think that because of what he did, I can now concentrate on different issues, different from what he concentrated on.

During the Cold War, tensions between the West and the Soviet Union affected virtually all countries worldwide. As a result, throughout Latin America, guerrilla groups emerged, seeking to destabilize military dictatorships and attain democracy, freedom, and policy reform - goals that they believed could not be achieved peacefully.

Europe would be well advised to pay more attention to Latin America. The emerging economies are the engines of the global economy. Colombia has done too little to improve its reputation in Europe.

There is a lot of inequality in Colombia. We have to correct that.

It's in the interest of the U.S. to maintain a strong democracy in Colombia.

Simply to have peace brings huge investment.