Bogota, 2 September 2022 (TDI): The Foreign Ministry of Colombia concluded a technical visit to La Guajira in the preparation for the progressive reactivation of relations and the reopening of the border with Venezuela.
La Cancillería concluyó una visita técnica a La Guajira para avanzar en la preparación para la progresiva y articulada reactivación de las relaciones y la reapertura de la frontera con Venezuela 🇻🇪 El proceso facilita la participación de los territorios fronterizos. pic.twitter.com/VfxVOfzU6M
— Cancillería Colombia (@CancilleriaCol) September 1, 2022
Columbia and Venezuala restore diplomatic ties
After a three-year gap, Colombia and Venezuela have resumed full diplomatic ties.
Armando Benedetti, the new Colombian ambassador, arrived in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas on 28 August 2022.
The new president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the socialist president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, stated on August 11 their intention to reestablish diplomatic relations that were broken in 2019.
Early in that year, Caracas severed connections with Bogota as members of the Venezuelan opposition attempted to penetrate Colombian territory with food and medication.
In addition to the exchange of ambassadors, the normalization process will involve the full reopening of the more than 2,000-km (1,200-mile) border between the two countries.
The border has been largely closed to vehicles since 2015 but has been open to pedestrians since late 2017.
Also read: Venezuela and Colombia Foreign Ministers meet
Venezuela and Colombia have also declared their determination to resume military ties.
Colombian Ambassador, Armando Bendetti stated that restarting diplomacy will be followed by work on commercial ties and consular services.
Restoring links might also be the initial step toward resurrecting regional political and economic blocs.
Colombian Foreign Minister, Alvaro Leyva underscored that it is time to reinvigorate Colombia’s focus on regional objectives and deepen ties with new regional partners.
Benefits of opening border
Approximately 2.5 million Venezuelans have moved to Colombia in recent years as a result of the country’s economic collapse.
If the border is fully reopened, business groups predict that bilateral trade might increase to almost $1.2 billion by the end of the year.
Last year, Colombia exported $331 million worth of commodities to Venezuela, down from $6.1 billion in 2008.
