WASHINGTON, May 24. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden formally conferred the major non-NATO ally status to Colombia.

"By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k) (the "Act"), I hereby designate Colombia as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.)," the Presidential Determination says.

Biden announced his intention to confer the relevant status to Colombia in March of this year.

This status highlights close relations between countries and provides foreign partners of Washington with certain advantages in defense trade and security cooperation but does not entail any security obligations from the US side to any state designated as the major non-NATO ally, the US Department of State said on its website. About twenty countries currently have such status.