“On this occasion, the foreign ministers first expressed their willingness to advance in a work agenda for the gradual normalization of binational relations as of August 7 with the appointment of diplomatic and consular officials,” Leyva said, after reading a communicated, curiously as if talking about other people.
It is that the text is drafted to be communicated by someone other than the foreign ministers.
“They support dialogue in favor of building paths of peace, respect and mutual understanding, with full recognition of our complementary capacities,” Leyva read.
The two diplomats welcomed the presence of the deputy representative of the secretary general of the United Nations verification mission in Colombia, Raúl Rosende, at the meeting, which they described as historic.
Faría, for his part, stated that the meeting analyzed the commercial cooperation that both countries had for years.
“Of course, we have made a historical account of the great cooperation and the great trade balance that existed before the interruption of relations between the two countries, which is the objective for which we must work at this time,” said the Bolivarian Foreign Minister. .
In June, President Nicolás Maduro and the then newly elected president-elect of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, had formalized the predisposition to restore normalcy at the borders.
Upon his arrival in Táchira, Leyva was received by the Venezuelan deputy minister for Latin America, Rander Peña, and the Venezuelan television network shared a series of photographs of the two foreign ministers walking at the airport.
In addition, the local governor, Freddy Bernal, also highlighted the value of the visit on his Twitter account: “Today is a day of joy for Táchira. In the Palace of the Lions I received the foreign minister appointed by the elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro”, he wrote. In Venezuela there were 15 Colombian consulates and in Colombian territory 9 Venezuelan diplomatic offices, whose closure complicated the procedures for citizens of both countries.
During his presidential campaign in Colombia, the then candidate of the Historical Pact – also his rival, Rodolfo Hernández, of the Anti-Corruption Governors League – had made it clear that he would move forward in reestablishing relations with Venezuela.
And Maduro had said, shortly before the second round, that “whoever wins” hoped to rebuild the link with the neighboring country.
Caracas and Bogotá have had strained ties for years, exacerbated by the constant crossing of accusations between Álvaro Uribe, first, and Duque, then, with Maduro, whom they accuse of being a dictator.
In 2015, the Venezuelan government ordered the border to be closed after denouncing an “ambush” on the Venezuelan military, which cut off the flow of trade between the two countries, which share a land border of some 2,200 kilometers.
And last October, Venezuela announced the “commercial opening” of its border in the Táchira state, although the passage remains restricted and hardens according to the tensions between the two governments. This binational crossing, the most important in the country, was closed in February 2019 after an attempt to enter alleged humanitarian aid led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom the Duque government recognizes as the president in charge of Venezuela, because he considers the elections fraudulent. who gave Maduro the last re-election.
Source: Ambito
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