Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called on Colombian businessmen on Wednesday to resume their investments in Venezuela, after on Monday he authorized the commercial opening of the border between the two countries, closed since 2015.
"I invite Colombian businessmen to resume their investments, their sales and all commercial economic activity with Venezuela. Colombia, Colombia, Colombia here is Venezuela. Venezuela awaits you Colombia, above political blunders, the economy must prevail"Maduro said during a government event.
The Venezuelan president ordered the opening of the border in favor of resuming commercial economic activity, and indicated that his Government estimates the minimum step of "15 gandolas (cargo trucks) daily" with products from Colombia to Venezuela.
"The minimum step has already been estimated, starting from 15 daily gandolas from Colombia to Venezuela with products", said.
Maduro assured that ideological differences between countries should be put aside when it comes to the economy, and expressed his wish that the Government of Iván Duque "understand it".
He assured that during the government of his mentor, Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), the binational trade came to be valued at 11,000 million dollars and recalled that by then the Administration of Venezuela had differences with the Government of former President Álvaro Uribe Vélez.
"We are brother countries and of blood and the right-wing partisan extremism that has been imposed with Iván Duque cannot be imposed", Held.
Last Monday, the Venezuelan vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced the opening for commercial transit of the border with Colombia, closed since 2015, in the state of Táchira, which houses the main crossing with the Andean country, starting on Tuesday.
The border was closed to the passage of vehicles in August 2015 by order of Caracas and the movement of people was suspended after the rupture of relations decided by Maduro on February 23, 2019, when the opposition leader Juan Guaidó tried to enter a caravan from Cúcuta humanitarian aid.
With the political crisis of 2019, the Government of Venezuela decided to install containers on the main bridge that connects the two countries, the Simón Bolívar, that began to be lifted last Monday when the decision to open the border was known.
Colombia’s border crossings with Venezuela began to partially reopen for pedestrians on Tuesday, a prelude to the expected resumption of commercial activity.
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