Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shakes hands with Colombian Ambassador Armando Benedetti at Miraflores Palace, Caracas, on Monday, August 29, 2022. Photo: Twitter/@AABenedetti.
Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, presented his credentials to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a ceremony at Miraflores Palace on Monday, August 29. With this event Benedetti’s diplomatic status in Venezuela was formalized.
The Colombian ambassador reported through a Twitter post that he and President Maduro spoke about the urgency of restoring all ties between the two countries.
A esta hora nos recibe en el Palacio de Miraflores el presidente @NicolasMaduro ante quien presento cartas credenciales como embajador de Colombia en Venezuela. Hablamos sobre la urgencia de restablecer los lazos de amistad que nunca se debieron romper. pic.twitter.com/a7o6bHemKx
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) August 29, 2022
Thus, the diplomatic relations between Colombia and Venezuela, which were interrupted in 2019 due to interventionist actions of former Colombian President Iván Duque, are formally restored.
The appointment of Armando Benedetti was made official on August 11 by the recently inaugurated president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. He instructed Benedetti to make it a priority to restore the institutionality in binational relations that existed before Duque.
“Relations with Venezuela should never have been broken. We are brothers and sisters and an imaginary line cannot separate us, much less a public policy of the State as happened with President Duque,” wrote Benedetti on his Twitter account.
The new ambassador arrived in Venezuela on Sunday, August 28, and was received by Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Peña.
At the same time, the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia, Félix Plasencia, also reached Bogotá.
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Upon his arrival, Plasencia stated that he will work towards recovering diplomatic relations. He stressed that he will work seven days a week to fulfill that goal.
“As instructed by our President Nicolás Maduro, we are in the Republic of Colombia to present our credentials to the government of this nation,” Plasencia wrote on Twitter. “We are eager to advance in the diplomacy of peace in this second opportunity that history has given us for resuming diplomatic relations between the two sister nations.”
Benedetti visits Vice President Delcy Rodríguez
On Tuesday, August 30, Ambassador Benedetti met with the top authorities of the executive and the legislative branches of Venezuela. These meetings showed the commitment of both the Venezuelan and Colombian states to move forward in reconstructing the deep relations that have always existed between the two countries.
Benedetti met Vice President Delcy Rodríguez at the headquarters of the Vice Presidency of Venezuela.
“We welcomed the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia in Venezuela Armando Benedetti,” Rodríguez wrote on Twitter. “We have a shared history, and our nations begin a new stage in diplomatic relations of robust and lasting cooperation for the benefit of the peoples of both countries.”
Dimos la bienvenida al Embajador de la República de Colombia en Venezuela @AABenedetti. Venimos de una historia hermana y nuestras naciones inician una nueva etapa para edificar relaciones diplomáticas de cooperación robusta y duradera para beneficio de ambos pueblos. pic.twitter.com/D0Y04uEozv
— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) August 30, 2022
Benedetti stated on Twitter that during this meeting the two ratified the ties of brotherhood between the nations.
“We were received by Delcy Rodríguez in the Vice Presidency of the Venezuelan Republic. We ratify our brotherhood and the interest in the progressive restoration of bilateral relations,” Benedetti wrote in the post.
Ambassador Benedetti also met with Venezuelan Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami in the vice president’s office.
“We discussed what we want for our countries in this new phase of the reestablishment of bilateral relations between Colombia and Venezuela, with the Minister of Petroleum Tareck El Aissami,” wrote the Colombian diplomat in another Twitter post.
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Benedetti visits National Assembly (AN) and Ministry of Defense
Afterwards Ambassador Benedetti visited the Federal Legislative Palace, the headquarters of the National Assembly of Venezuela, where he was received by the National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez.
Rodríguez expressed his happiness at the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and announced the coordination with the Colombian authorities for a meeting between the parliamentarians of both countries. “We are talking with the Second Committee of the Colombian congress and the president for the purpose of announcing soon what type of meeting will be held,” he said.
The Colombian Ambassador also met Deputy Diosdado Cabello. The website Con el Mazo Dando reported that after a conversation, Benedetti and Cabello toured the Elliptical Hall of the Federal Legislative Palace, where the ambassador expressed his deep admiration for the artworks that represent the events related to the independence of Venezuela and Colombia.
En la Asamblea Nacional, tuvimos la oportunidad de dialogar con el diputado @dcabellor sobre la consolidación de la paz en ambas naciones. pic.twitter.com/noJoqpTKsv
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) August 30, 2022
After the visit to the National Assembly, Ambassador Benedetti went to Fort Tiuna which hosts the headquarters of the Venezuelan Defense Ministry. There he met with Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
“At this moment we are meeting Defense Minister Major General Vladimir Padrino López, with whom we discuss the restoration of trust and mutual respect,” Benedetti posted on Twitter during the meeting.
Bienvenido Embajador Armando Benedetti @AABenedetti. ¡CUÁNTA HISTORIA UNE A NUESTROS PUEBLOS! pic.twitter.com/tFaWiovmqD
— Vladimir Padrino L. (@vladimirpadrino) August 30, 2022
A esta hora, nos recibe en el Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa del Despacho el general en jefe, Vladimir Padrino López @vladimirpadrino con quien coincidimos en restablecer la confianza y el respeto mutuo. pic.twitter.com/fl0edJzUTO
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) August 30, 2022
Likewise, Venezuelan Defense Minister Padrino wrote on Twitter, “We welcome Ambassador Armando Benedetti. So much history unites our peoples!”
Venezuelan and Colombian authorities have already established procedures to boost trade, especially the border trade, and the foreign ministries are advancing in a parliamentary work plan, as reported by the president of the AN, Deputy Jorge Rodríguez.
(Últimas Noticias) by Ariadna Eljury and Odry Farnetano, with Orinoco Tribune content.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC/EF
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