Colombian and Venezuelan authorities have signed this Friday a bilateral plan for the gradual reactivation of international cargo and passenger transportation by land, all this after the governments of both countries announced the total opening of borders on January 1, 2023.
«Together with the Colombian Minister of Transportation Guillermo Reyes we signed the bilateral operational plan for the gradual reactivation of international cargo and passenger transport by road between brotherly peoples. Betting on Peace and productive economic development», said the Venezuelan Minister of Transport, Ramón Velásquez, in a statement.
For his part, the Colombian Minister of Transport stressed the need for both countries to have a mobility and transportation plan after the opening of the border.
«The idea is to have clear rules, so that our fellow citizens, mayors and territorial authorities know how to regulate border crossings, specify the state in which vehicles must be to cross and also how to control them,» said Reyes in a message on the social network Twitter.
«We reiterate, we must leave clear rules so that when we make the formal opening, everyone is prepared and thus achieve a good transit from Colombia to Venezuela and vice versa,» he added.
Last Monday, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced that on January 1, 2023 the total reopening of land borders with Colombia will take place, allowing the passage of vehicles and people between the two countries.
«We will be completely opening the western border for the passage of vehicles, motorcycles, trucks, cars», said the Venezuelan president during a meeting of his Executive in Caracas, reported ‘El Universal’.
The border between Colombia and Venezuela had remained closed for seven years after Maduro blocked the passage between the two Latin American countries during the government of Juan Manuel Santos due to the alleged presence of Colombian paramilitaries in his territory, a crisis that worsened with the expulsion of hundreds of Colombians from Venezuela.
After Gustavo Petrosa’s victory in the elections, the current Colombian president expressed to Maduro his willingness to reestablish «the full exercise of Human Rights» between the two countries upon his arrival to the presidency, after the outgoing Iván Duque put an end to diplomatic relations in February 2019.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
