The National Assembly ratified on Tuesday the parliamentary friendship group between Venezuela and Colombia established last May, which aims to deepen relations between the two legislatures as well as promote laws that favor the development of the common border. The event was attended by the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, and the governor of the state of Táchira, Freddy Bernal.
On the Venezuelan side, the president of the group is the deputy, Julio Chávez, who assured that the Colombian and Venezuelan parliamentarians intend to “promote the necessary legal instruments” to “restore prosperity and integral development” to the Colombian border. Venezuelan and “promote” economic, academic, educational, cultural and scientific exchanges through that area that was affected for years during the break in relations between Caracas and Bogotá, which was able to be reestablished after Gustavo Petro’s arrival at the Casa de Nariño , the first Colombian president who does not come from the most extreme right in the Colombian oligarchy.
“We will work with our counterparts, the Colombian congressmen, on different issues, so that we can contribute to total peace, and that will be one of the tasks, of the objectives, of this parliamentary group, which has been formally installed today” , said.
Chávez referred to previous meetings between Venezuelan and Colombian parliamentarians, such as the one held in Táchira last month, during which “a memorandum of understanding was signed to develop all issues” such as border trade, production, migration, transportation and security.
In statements collected by VTV, Benedetti stressed that “enough has already been done” and referred to the achievement for both nations of having “reestablished economic, diplomatic, legislative relations… judicial and law enforcement cooperation”, as well as “transportation; the reestablishment of the airlines”, however, he pointed out that “the border needs to be taken away from the mafias, but the two governments are working on it”, he said.
The New Granada ambassador highlighted on twitter the accompaniment of the Colombian Executive, which he represents in Venezuela, in the creation of the inter-parliamentary group and assured that the Government of Petro will support “the commitment to work for a common agenda: migratory, social, commercial and environmental issues “that result in” that lead us to “total peace” in Colombia, the maxim of the Petro administration.
Benedetti referred during the act of creating the group that there is a “need to create border legislation” in both nations and to create a common economic zone between Cúcuta and San Antonio del Táchira, in addition to promoting investment in various border municipalities along the the boundary line.
Bernal: Legislating for the future
For his part, the governor of Táchira told VTV that “very interesting proposals” were made during the meeting, he reiterated the need for “border legislation” in both countries “since our legislation is anachronistic; it stayed in the past and it is necessary to legislate for 20, 30, 50 years in the future».
The governor of the border state added that “both governments… by instruction of President Petro and President (of Venezuela) Nicolás Maduro, are doing everything necessary so that as of January 1, 2023, there will be no commercial, administrative or customs; and it is possible to allow an exchange not only of products but also the mobility of people in personal cars, public transport and once again, Táchira and Norte de Santander, that hinge that connects not only two brother countries, but also… the interoceanic corridor between the Pacific (Ocean) and the Atlantic (Ocean).
“Today we have committed to work hand in hand between legislators from Colombia and Venezuela to legislate in order to guarantee a border of peace, brotherhood and prosperity,” Bernal said.
He distinguished as main issues in the interparliamentary dialogue of Venezuela and Colombia the “flexibilization mechanisms for import and export procedures; a legislation that sees the border as a living land of permanent exchange… guarantee the conditions that allow investment»
The regional president pointed out that they also promised to “study (in legislative terms) the implementation of a binational exchange zone that groups Villa del Rosario and Cúcuta; in Norte de Santander and San Antonino and Ureña (in Táchira) to make it a free trade and exchange zone»
He explained that such a zone would not be limited to binational exchange, but since Venezuela is a country unilaterally blocked by the US, it would serve as “a dry port for exchange with more than 300 million people with all of Latin America,” he said.
He explained that “there is all the political will of President Nicolás Maduro, and now of President Petro so that… twinned in Bolívar” the destiny of both countries is to win,” said Bernal.
