Venezuela and Colombia reaffirmed this Thursday their will to normalize bilateral relations between the two nations, once Gustavo Petro takes office as president of the New Granadean nation on August 7.
In statements broadcast by Venezolana de Televisión, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Carlos Faría, explained that this measure will be effective immediately:
“We have agreed to the establishment, once that moment arrives, immediately, to restore the ambassadors who are going to represent our countries, all the teams that should be working in the different consulates, both from Venezuela and Colombia”, said Faría after a meeting with Colombia’s designated foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, in Táchira state.
Faría stated that, during the meeting, they discussed and agreed to work towards security on the border, as well as gradually reopening it after Petro took office:
“We have discussed and agreed that we must carefully watch and work for peace and security on our borders, we are talking about the gradual opening of the border that will immediately benefit our peoples; and cooperation in the trade balance, which is the objective for which we will work, as well as the reestablishment of relations based on respect”, emphasized Faría.
During the meeting designated Chancellor Álvaro Leyva; and the Venezuelan diplomat signed a joint declaration, inspired by the historical deed of Simón Bolívar and framed in the brotherhood, complementarity and cooperation that unite both peoples:
“The Chancellors expressed their willingness to work to advance a work agenda for the gradual normalization of binational relations starting next August 7 with the appointment of ambassadors and other diplomatic officials”, reads the joint statement read by Leyva.
Likewise, it was agreed on the ratification and willingness to consolidate the ties of friendship and cooperation with review of all issues of binational interest, as well as making joint efforts to guarantee security and peace on both borders.
Similarly, they expressed gratitude for the presence of the deputy representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, Raúl Rosende, at the first and historic meeting.
Finally, they agreed to support the dialogue in favor of building paths of peace, respect and mutual understanding with full recognition of complementary capacities.
The Chancellor appointed by President Petro was received in the Ligia Montoya Hall of the Palace of the Lions of the Government of Táchira state.
On June 25, President Petro appointed Álvaro Leyva Durán as his Minister for Foreign Affairs, after obtaining an electoral victory on June 19 with 11,292,758 million votes. Petro reiterated his desire to normalize relations with Venezuela with a view to contributing to the economic development of the region.
For his part, the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, has called on Colombian and Venezuelan society to seek a new stage of cooperative relations between the two Caribbean nations.
