The ruler Nicolás Maduro and the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, signed this Thursday, February 16, the Partial Scope Agreement of a Commercial Nature No. 28. The meeting took place on the Atanasio Girardot bridge and it is the first time that both leaders, who have met before, coincide in the border area. Maduro stressed that the signing of the agreement lays the foundations for the creation of a Special Economic Zone between Venezuela and Colombia.
The governor Nicolas Maduro and the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, signed this Thursday, February 16, the Partial Scope Agreement of a Commercial Nature No. 28. The meeting took place on the Atanasio Girardot bridge and it is the first time that both leaders, who have met before, meet in the border area.
«We have signed a commercial meeting, these bridges have to be full of commerce. We have enabled these bridges and we have made customs agreements,” Petro said.
At the same time, the President of Colombia emphasized that the authorization of border bridges is important because they are not only filled with commerce, “it is so that they are filled with people in their constant transit. May this border line not separate us”.
Petro defended binational integration and ratified his call to combat border crimes. “There has to be a legality here so that people’s rights are protected,” he stressed.
Likewise, the Colombian president maintained that what happened in the trails in the past has been a constant violation of human rights and “the handing over of this border line to the mafias. There is no place for legality here.”
For his part, Maduro said that “fresh winds are blowing” in the relationship with Colombia. “Venezuela and Colombia are in a new phase of building relations in all lines of action,” he said.
At the same time, the president said that both countries are resuming a new political, economic, commercial, and population dynamic.”
Maduro stressed that the signing of the agreement lays the foundations for the creation of a Special Economic Zone between Venezuela and Colombia. “This agreement puts us on the path of work, productivity and economic and commercial growth of the two countries,” he said. . The president thanked the efforts of the ministers of both nations for the realization of the agreement that is given shortly after the resumption of relations with Colombia.
In addition, Maduro pointed out to Petro the convenience of installing an economic team, “where the governors of the area participate, to project the creation of the Special Economic Zone between the north of Santander and the state of Táchira.”
During the border meeting, Maduro pointed out, once again, that “Venezuela is subject to a regime of blockade, economic, commercial, financial persecution, sanctions illegal acts that hit the backbone of the national income.
meeting Petro
Earlier, the Colombian ambassador in Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, reported that he met Maduro in Santo Domingo and they are going to San Antonio to attend the meeting with Petro “for the signing of the partial scope agreement of a commercial nature 28”.
We arrived in Santo Domingo (Venezuela) where we waited for the president @NicolasMaduro and we are heading to San Antonio to attend the meeting with the president @petrogustavo for the signing of the partial scope agreement of a commercial nature 28. pic.twitter.com/MlLtH0WNkA
— Armando Benedetti (@AABenedetti) February 16, 2023
This partial agreement grants the preferential treatment that both countries implement to the bilateral commercial exchange, which sustains the preferential tariff treatment for the products that are brought from the neighboring country.
Venezuelan businessmen have requested the modification of Partial Agreement #28 in order to also seek that products made in the country have preferences in Colombian territory, as happens inversely. They consider that as things currently stand, there is no equality in the exchange and only Colombia is favored.
*Read also: Venezuela and Colombia sign agreement to promote binational investments.
End of December 2022, In the commercial exchange between Táchira and Norte de Santander, the traffic of 1,020 trucks that have crossed the formal steps was recorded.
Of that number of heavy-duty vehicles, 870 are exported from Colombia, while 150 are exported from Venezuela, according to figures provided by Sandra Guzmán, president of the Federation of Logistics Agents in Commerce (Fitac), Cúcuta chapter.
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