Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil (left) shaking hands with his acting Colombian counterpart Luis Gilberto Murillo (right). Photo: X/@yvangil.
The foreign ministers of Venezuela and Colombia held the First Follow-up Meeting of the Neighborhood and Integration Commission in order to address various topics and strengthen bilateral relations between both nations. The meeting was held just days after the impasse concerning Colombian statements regarding the candidates’ registration process for the upcoming July 28 presidential elections in Venezuela.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil traveled this Monday, April 8, to the city of Cúcuta, near the Venezuelan border, to hold a meeting with his Colombian counterpart Luis Gilberto Murillo. In addition, Vice Foreign Minister Francisco Coy and the Colombian ambassador in Caracas, Milton Rengifo, among other diplomats, participated on the Colombian side.
For Venezuela, the Vice Foreign Minister Minister for Latin America Rander Peña and the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia Carlos Eduardo Martínez Mendoza were present at the meeting of the Neighborhood and Integration Commission.
Los cancilleres de 🇨🇴 @LuisGMurillo y 🇻🇪 @yvangil se reúnen con las delegaciones de ambos países, para presentar avances y logros de la Comisión de Vecindad e Integración Colombia-Venezuela, y avanzar en los temas de la agenda bilateral. pic.twitter.com/KyzRlkihhb
— Cancillería Colombia (@CancilleriaCol) April 8, 2024
The meeting lasted three hours, in which the foreign ministers of Colombia and Venezuela discussed the upcoming presidential elections, border security, infrastructure, border issues, mining, transportation, and trade exchange, among many other issues within their complex and comprehensive bilateral relations.
After the follow-up meeting, Foreign Minister Gil said that both Venezuela and Colombia are ready to consolidate new projects that promote mutual prosperity.
For his part, the acting foreign minister of Colombia announced that his country will send a delegation to observe the Venezuelan elections on July 28, following a Venezuelan invitation.
“Foreign Minister Gil has proposed the idea to us,” said Murillo. “He has invited us to participate with a sort of electoral observation mission, an electoral oversight of Colombia.”
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Murillo added that Colombia welcomes the fact that there will be also oversight by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), as already announced by Venezuelan electoral authorities.
In his statement, Minister Gil said that during the meeting they made progress in the normalization of relations, which have taken on a new dynamism since the arrival of President Gustavo Petro in Colombia. Since the inauguration of President Petro, there has been a 180-degree shift in the relationship between both countries, heavily damaged by the irrational, US-centered approach of former president Ivan Duque.
The first follow-up meeting took place in May of last year. At that time, Colombia’s then-Chancellor Álvaro Leyva and Yván Gil agreed to create the Neighborhood and Integration Commission with the aim of coordinating and promoting cooperation and integration.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
