By Anggy Polanco and Nelson Bocanegra
CÚCUTA, Colombia (Reuters) – The full reopening of the Colombia-Venezuela border will happen sooner or later, but it will depend on legal conditions and the general restoration of bilateral ties, Colombian Trade Minister German Umana said on Thursday. fair.
“The border will be opened soon, but the moment we have this coordination,” the minister said during a meeting in Cúcuta of businessmen from both sides of the border, including the Colombia-Venezuela Chamber of Commerce.
Relations between the two countries have improved in the nearly two weeks since Gustavo Petro took office as Colombia’s new president. Petro has promised to reopen largely closed businesses along the porous border, which stretches 2,219 kilometers.
Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have appointed their ambassadors to their respective countries.
“Our businessmen are working so that this is not subject to sanctions,” Umana added, without elaborating.
A UN envoy said last year that US and EU sanctions on Venezuela were worsening a humanitarian crisis and recommended easing them, much to the chagrin of the country’s opposition.
The reopening won’t mean a big increase in trade in the short term, but it will be key to re-establishing institutional control in an area affected by illegal economies and smuggling, Umana said.
“What will happen when we open the bridges is that we will replace illegality, money laundering, smuggling,” he said.
Trade between the two countries this year could total more than US$600 million, he added, after reaching US$316 million in the first half of the year, roughly the same as during the whole of 2021.
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