The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro (left), and the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro (right) shake hands in Miraflores Palace, Caracas, March 2023. File photo.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, will be in Venezuela on an official visit this weekend, and will meet with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro.
Upon the completion og the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit, held in San Francisco, USA, the Colombian president will travel to Venezuela. This was announced on Wednesday, November 15, in an official statement of the Colombian government.
Petro is expected to arrive in Caracas on Friday, November 17. On Saturday he will meet with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as well as other authorities of the Venezuelan government.
“On November 18, he [Petro] will be in Caracas (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela) for a bilateral meeting with the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and on November 19 he will hold working meetings,” the statement announced.
#NoticiaW | El presidente Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) viajaría a Venezuela el próximo 18 de noviembre tras su regreso de Estados Unidos. Según el decreto expedido por la Presidencia, se espera que el mandatario se reúna con su homólogo Nicolás Maduro. pic.twitter.com/4uGcYvEqhM
— W Radio Colombia (@WRadioColombia) November 15, 2023
During Petro’s absence, Colombian Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla will be in charge of exercising the president’s functions.
Bonilla explained that the two presidents will discuss about how to include Venezuela in issues addressed in international forums to which the Venezuelan president has not been invited.
“The president wants to talk with Nicolás Maduro to inform him of everything that is discussed in these meetings from which he is excluded and to have points of convergence,” Bonilla said. “We are highly interested in what is happening on the border with Venezuela, so excluding him internationally, as others do, is not the best way forward for Colombia.”
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In addition, the two presidents are expected to address issues such as the reopening of borders, regional security, and Venezuela’s support for the Total Peace project of Colombia.
This weekend’s meeting would be the fourth meeting between the two presidents in less than a year after the restoration of relations between Colombia and Venezuela.
The first meeting took place on November 1, 2022, when bilateral relation was reestablished. On that occasion, the two governments agreed to boost economic and trade relations as well as to strengthen border security and the fight against drug trafficking.
They met again in January and March 2023. In January, they discussed the progress of the Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, while in March they discussed bilateral strategic cooperation.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
