(Credit: YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, gave a press conference this Monday following the reopening of the borders with Venezuela.
“Today is a historic day for the country, for the region and for South America. For America, in general,” the president began in his speech.
And he added that “globalization is first and foremost a relationship between neighbors. Anyone who measures international trade flows, cultural flows, population flows will always find that the greatest amount is between neighbors. And that was the case before the sectarian madness took over hearts and brains, that’s how it was between Colombia and Venezuela and between Colombia and Ecuador”.
After mentioning the opportunities that the decision to reopen the borders has for the country and the region, Petro said: “I want the first beneficiaries to be those who live on both sides of the border, those who risked on those trails , the women who walked by there”. “Today there is an automatic recovery for passers-by a few days ago, for those who go on machines now, and it is to completely legalize the cultural and economic flows of the population. This should result in a qualitative leap in human rights around the Colombian-Venezuelan border “, he added.
The president added that the objective is to recover US$ 4,000 million in trade across the border in the medium term and recover the US$ 8,000 million that were registered before. “Necessarily, the two economies have to integrate,” he added.