Venezuelan, Colombian leaders meet as ties improve

CARACAS — Venezuelan and Colombian presidents met on Tuesday for the first time in years as the two neighboring Latin American countries continue to improve their relations and promote economic and trade cooperation.

In the first visit by a Colombian head of state to Venezuela since 2016, Colombian President Gustavo Petro held talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

The meeting of the two leaders marked a watershed warming between the once estranged neighbors.

Maduro welcomed Petro at the Miraflores presidential palace, where the latter was honored with traditional Colombian music.

"We want to invite Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru to accept the reintegration of Venezuela in the Andean Community as a member with full powers," Petro said after meeting Maduro at Miraflores.

Venezuela left the regional trade bloc in 2006.

Petro has asked for Venezuela's support in peace talks with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a Colombian rebel group that operates on both sides of the border.

Fertilizer production

Following the meeting, Maduro said he had listened to Petro's proposals and was also interested in developing a deal between both countries to produce fertilizer, which has become more expensive for many countries in Latin America due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"It was an intense, fruitful and extensive meeting," Maduro said.

Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Colombia in 2019 after the government of then-Colombian president Ivan Duque recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's acting president.

After Petro succeeded Duque, he signaled a shift in foreign policy toward Venezuela, and Caracas expressed willingness to restore ties.

The two countries restored full diplomatic relations in late August, reopening border crossings and sending ambassadors to each other's capitals.

After the talks, Maduro called for "new steps toward a total opening" of the two neighbors' shared 2,200-kilometer border, a frontier that has been infested with armed groups fighting over lucrative drug resources and routes.

In September, Colombia and Venezuela reopened the border to vehicles transporting goods, considered the first step toward resuming commercial relations worth about $7.2 billion in 2008, but only $400 million last year.

On Monday, Maduro said he had spoken to Brazil's president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to "resume the binational agenda of cooperation".

Xinhua