BOGOTA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Colombia's diplomacy was fruitful this year, with ties forged with new trade partners and good relations maintained with neighbors, Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said.

　　"At the bilateral level, relations with our neighboring countries are going through one of the best moments in history," she said in a year-end message posted on the ministry's website.

　　"Our geographic agenda has diversified to reach places where we had never been before, while ties with traditional partners in America and Europe were consolidated," said the minister, adding that Colombia reached agreements with new trade partners all over the world, especially countries in Asia, Oceania, Africa and Eurasia.

　　"We have also succeeded in expanding ... our presence in multilateral mechanisms that a few years ago we would not have thought of," she said.

　　She admitted Colombia also met several diplomatic challenges "and some difficult moments" in 2013, but the overall diplomatic performance was positive in all fields.

　　"Today we are an example of international cooperation in several matters," Holguin said, "we are leading discussions in sustainable development on a global scale and we are in the process of joining the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development)."