Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to focus on trade relations as he begins a six-day trip to South America and the Caribbean on Sunday.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, meets with Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo in Bogota on Sunday.
(William Fernando Martinez/Associated Press)

His first stop is Colombia, a country with a bustling economy and a government mired in a scandal being closely watched by human rights groups.

Colombia's Supreme Court recently began investigating President Alvaro Uribe's cousin and two senators over alleged ties to the country's right-wing paramilitary groups.

The Harper government recently announced its intention to start negotiating a free trade deal with Colombia. Talks have yet to start, but senior government officials say the topic will likely come up for discussion on Monday when Harper meets with Uribe.

Currently, $500 million worth of goods and services flow each way between Canada and Colombia annually, William Dymond, senior executive fellow at Carleton University's Centre for Trade Policy and Law, told CBC News.  

The talks are a good idea, he said, adding that it's important for Canada to establish a free trade agreement with Colombia so that it doesn't lose some key markets, such as agriculture, to the United States, which has already signed a trade deal with the South American country.

"Trade agreements are not about today's trade," Dymond said. "They're about tomorrow's trade."

Furthermore, Canada would benefit if a free trade agreement could open new markets for its financial services, mining and engineering sectors, Dymond said.

If there's political backing for it, a trade deal would take eight to 12 months to negotiate, he added.

While in Bogota, Harper is also scheduled to tour a Canadian-funded rehabilitation centre that helps victims of the landmines that litter the country after years of civil war.

Starting Tuesday, he'll spend two days in Santiago, where he will mark the 10th anniversary of the Canada-Chile free trade agreement and meet with President Michelle Bachelet.

Next on the itinerary is Barbados, where Harper will meet with Prime Minister Owen Arthur and other Caribbean leaders.

Harper will end his whirlwind tour on July 20 as he makes a brief stop in Haiti for a chat with President Rene Préval before returning to Ottawa.

In a news conference last Wednesday, human rights and labour groups released an open letter to Harper asking him to raise a number of humanitarian issues when he meets with the leaders of Colombia and Haiti.

"We're asking the prime minister to put human rights first … to make it clear that trade does not trump human rights," Kathy Price of Amnesty International told CBC Newsworld on Sunday.

In a news release earlier this month announcing the tour, Harper's office said: "Through this enhanced engagement, Canada could achieve real progress on key issues such as security, democratic governance and economic prosperity."