The delivery of the Colombian diplomat’s credentials to President Nicolás Maduro on August 29 at the Miraflores Palace, seat of government, opened the doors to dialogue, agreement and peace between two sister nations.

In the meeting held for almost 30 minutes in the Simon Bolívar Hall, the two men discussed the urgency of reestablishing the bonds of friendship in an organized manner, so that the process of reestablishment may be a success.

Benedetti met, in addition to Maduro, with the Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic, Delcy Rodríguez; with the Deputy and head of the ruling Bloque de la Patria, Diosdado Cabello; and the Speaker of the National Assembly (Parliament), Jorge Rodríguez.

Also with the Minister of the People’s Power for Petroleum, Tareck El Aissami, and the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino.

The latter wrote in his Twitter account, given the new national scenario experienced by the neighboring nation ‘it is time to take on responsibilities and work together’.

Experts believe that it will not be easy to rebuild relations, but there is a manifest will of both presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolas Maduro to move forward, and for this there is already talk of the possibility of a meeting next October between the two leaders.

Likewise, the business sector, on both sides, is motivated to meet again in a possible binational trade roundtable in that same month, organized by the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Production.

Before the rupture in 2019 of political and diplomatic relations, trade between Caracas and Bogota amounted to 6,5 billion dollars and came down to zero, Congressman Roy Daza pointed out.

mv/jcd.