Venezuelan deputy foreign minister for Latin America, Rander Peña (right), and the new Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Bendetti (left), upon his arrival in Caracas. Photo: Twitter/@RedRadioVE.
This Sunday, August 28, designated Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, arrived in Caracas to formally present credentials to the Venezuelan government, as part of the actions to resume relations between the two countries.
As reported by the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry in a press release, Benedetti stressed that relations with Venezuela should never have been broken.
“We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us, much less a public policy of the state, as happened with President Duque,” he said.
🔴 Llegó Armando Benedetti a Caracas como embajador de Colombia en Venezuela. Las relaciones entre Colombia y Venezuela comienzan un proceso de normalización. Entérese → https://t.co/f0K93Fb2a0 pic.twitter.com/WXhXjWZ1sN
— EL TIEMPO (@ELTIEMPO) August 29, 2022
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Benedetti explained that one of the priorities in this new stage is to re-boost bilateral trade.
“We are going to look for a [special] economic zone, tax exemptions and legislation that allows the Colombian government to invest in projects that have an impact on the development of the region,” he explained.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean Rander Peña, who personally received the Colombian diplomat upon his arrival wrote on his Twitter account: “On behalf of the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro Moros, we welcome the designated Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia in Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, to the country, which means reestablishing our historical ties, and cooperation ties that call for us to work together for the happiness of our peoples. Welcome!”
Recibimos con entusiasmo al Embajador de Colombia en nuestro país, Armando Benedetti @AABenedetti confiados y llenos de esperanza de que este será un nuevo comienzo para profundizar los lazos de hermandad y cooperación entre nuestros pueblos y así avanzar juntos al futuro. pic.twitter.com/NHjm46fyrX
— Carlos Faria (@Fariacrt) August 28, 2022
Ambassador Benedetti is a journalist. Between 1990 and 1991, he was part of the political and international newsroom of the newspaper El Tiempo in Bogotá.
He was elected senator of the republic in the 2006 elections for the U party and was re-elected for the period of 2010-2014.
In the legislative power, Benedetti endorsed the project that provides social security and property rights to couples from the LGBTIQ+ community.
Benedetti has been a colleague of Colombian President Gustavo Petro since their first commission in the Senate in 2006, coinciding ideologically on the issue of peace.
On July 28, he visited Venezuela together with Colombian appointed new foreign minister, Álvaro Leyva, participating in a meeting with Venezuelan foreign minister, Carlos Faría, in the city of San Cristóbal, Táchira state.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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