This Tuesday the president of the National Assembly received the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti at the Palacio de los Escudos. Previously Benedetti was received in the Hall of the Shields of the Legislative Federal by the head deputy of the Bloc of the Fatherland, Diosdado Cabello.
Benedetti thanked the welcome and highlighted the importance of reinvigorating relations between the two nations.
For his part, the president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, stressed that the issue of the border must be a consensual issue.
"We have a shared historical relationship, a border that must be addressed in a consensual, coordinated, and dynamic manner so that the people can feel supported in every way," he said.
He also explained that parliament is in talks with the Colombian Congress to fine-tune the type of meeting that will take place between the two parliaments.
Likewise, Ambassador Benedetti stressed that there is still no set date for the meeting between President Gustavo Petro and President Nicolás Maduro. "Possibly it will be in the month of October."
He reported that, in the meeting with the president, Nicolás Maduro, several issues were discussed, including the energy issue and the political issue.
next meeting
Benedetti arrived in the country last Sunday, and was received by the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, this Monday at the Miraflores Palace, to whom he handed over the diplomatic credentials as Colombian ambassador to Venezuela.
On his first official visit, Ambassador Benedetti plans to coordinate the first meeting between Nicolás Maduro and Gustavo Petro.
"I will propose that this meeting could be at the beginning of October at a border site between the two nations," he said on Monday in his meeting with the first National President at the Miraflores Palace.
From the Simón Bolívar Hall, he spoke with the Venezuelan president about the roadmap for cooperation between the two countries and "the urgency of restoring the bonds of friendship that should never have been severed."
Maduro will propose the creation of a large North Santander and Táchira binational economic zone.
It is estimated that the meeting between the two leaders will take place next October. The appointment would take place in the border area between both nations.
Organize the embassy
The ambassador mentioned that among the main tasks are organizing the embassy, the consulates “which are quite deteriorated and forgotten by the previous government. First, fix that. And second, try to open the border as quickly as possible.”
He stated that upon his arrival, the most difficult aspect of the relationship process has been "the infrastructure, just as it was left here in Venezuela, which is completely abandoned, forgotten by the previous government."
The Colombian diplomat indicated that he has an agenda of topics that will be addressed in the meeting with the Venezuelan president, such as: "an economic zone, legislation that allows the two countries to invest in infrastructure, schools, hospitals, bridges, that radiate and impact on the development of the region.
Armando Benedetti was appointed Colombian ambassador to Venezuela by Gustavo Petro, on August 11. Diplomatic relations were fractured in 2019, during the period of Iván Duque.
Cabello, Rodríguez and Ambassador Benedetti in the corridors of the Federal Legislative Palace /Photos Fausto Torrealba/AVN The president of the AN, Jorge Rodríguez, assured that the policies between both nations will be agreed upon The head of the Parliamentary Bloc of the Homeland, together with the Colombian ambassador The President of the Venezuelan Parliament accompanied Ambassador Benedetti to the Hall of Shields Diosdado Cabello welcomed the Colombian ambassador in the Hall of Shields of the Venezuelan parliament. /Photo: Fausto Torrealba-AVN
