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Andreina Itriago Acosta and Fabiola Zerpa, Bloomberg News
CARACAS
EnergiesNet.com 08 30 2022
Venezuela and Colombia are expected to formally restart relations Monday, ending a diplomatic impasse that began in 2019 between the neighboring countries.
Colombia’s envoy, Armando Benedetti, will present his credentials to Venezuela’s government and meet Monday afternoon with President Nicolas Maduro. His Venezuelan counterpart, Felix Plasencia, said he arrived in Bogota on Sunday “eager to advance the diplomacy of peace.”
The exchange of ambassadors is the most concrete step toward fulfilling Colombia President Gustavo Petro’s vow to re-establish bilateral ties with Maduro. Relations have been severed since 2019 when Colombia joined the US and other countries in deciding not to recognize Maduro’s legitimacy, claiming presidential elections were fraudulent.
“We committed a huge mistake by breaking relations,” said Petro, who took office on Aug. 7, according to a statement Sunday that cited previous comments. “This begins the difficult path — which has its undoubted pitfalls and complications — to restore diplomatic relationship with a neighbor.”
While the rapprochement has been slower than some business groups and politicians had expected, Benedetti said restarting diplomacy would be followed by work on the commercial relationship and consular services.
Restoring relations could also be the first step toward revitalizing regional political and trade blocs like the Andean Community, which Venezuela pulled out of years ago. “It’s time to renew our gaze toward regional objectives, strengthening relations with new regional partners,” said Colombia Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva during a speech Monday at the bloc’s headquarters in Lima in which he mentioned Venezuela and Chile.
Roughly 2.5 million Venezuelans have fled to Colombia in recent years as an economic catastrophe unfolded at home. Bilateral trade could rise to about $1.2 billion by the end of the year if the border is fully reopened, according to estimates from business groups. Colombia exported just $331 million of goods to Venezuela last year, down from $6.1 billion in 2008.
bloomberg.com 08 29 2022
