The former head of the International Monetary Fund is accompanied by German business leaders, constitutional court judges and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church as well as by his wife Eva on the 12-day journey.

The first leg of the trip is Paraguay, home to 10,000 German citizens and 120,000 people of German descent with the event marking the first-ever visit by a German head of state to the country.

Köhler will be looking at the progress made since the adoption of a democratic constitution, following the ouster of dictator Alfredo Strössner in 1989.

From Paraguay he travels to Brazil, where rain-forest conservation and environmental protection are high on the agenda. He is to officially open the refurbished German embassy in Brasilia.

Köhler will be in Sao Paulo at the same time as US President George Bush, but there are no plans for the two leaders to meet, Köhler's office said.

In Colombia, Köhler will talk to officials about narcotic strafficking, trade and Bogota's efforts to disarm rightwing paramilitaries and find an end to the 40-year civil war waged by

Marxist rebels.