The elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, who will assume power next Sunday, has announced that the consulates of the neighboring country in Venezuela will be reopened, with the aim of providing the corresponding assistance to Colombian citizens in the country.
The information was released by Laura Gil, who has been appointed Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the neighboring country.
Gil explained that Colombia had 15 consulates in Venezuela, of which the Colombian State only owns the headquarters in Caracas; the rest of the premises were delivered, he cleared it. He added that it is necessary to acquire new offices and obtain and organize again the lists of Colombians in Venezuela.
He highlighted the need to carry out contact work with the more than six million Colombians abroad, of whom an approximate five million are estimated to be in this country.
In this regard, the official said that “the most important assets of the consulates are the lists of Colombians in their jurisdiction. Four years later we don’t know what condition they are in and we have to update them.”
He raised the possibility of founding a Vice Ministry of Migration to more effectively address this key area for both nations.
Return of Monomers
Another of the key decisions that the Petro administration will take is to return control of the Monómeros fertilizer company to the Venezuelan State, in its capacity as legitimate owner.
Daniel Rojas, Gustavo Petro’s representative in the Liaison Commission, affirmed that Monómeros is “of special relevance to reduce food prices in the country.”
The Colombian-Venezuelan company Monómeros is managed by officials appointed by opposition deputies of the Assembly elected in 2015, but the government of Iván Duque intervened it last year amid allegations of corruption and considering that it was at risk of illiquidity.
Russia welcomes resumption of ties between the two countries
The Russian Federation welcomed the eventual reestablishment of relations between Venezuela and Colombia, once Gustavo Petro assumes the Presidency of the neighboring country next Sunday.
After the meeting held last week between the Venezuelan foreign minister, Carlos Faría, and Álvaro Leyva Durán, appointed by Petro as the new foreign minister of Colombia.
The Eurasian nation described the meeting between the two diplomats in the city of San Cristóbal as positive.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, María Zajárova, expressed in a statement that “Moscow hopes that Caracas and Bogotá will resolve in a civilized and peaceful manner the accumulated problems in the spheres of migration, security in border areas, and commercial and economic cooperation.” , exacerbated during the government of Iván Duque.
