Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said that the meeting scheduled for Friday between Presidents Alvaro Uribe of Colombia and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela would be characterized by the "re-establishment" of a "constructive and respectful dialogue," the state news agency ABN reported.
Announcing the agenda for the meeting, the minister said the talks would center on cooperation between the two countries in the energy, economy and commercial spheres as well as border issues. "With Colombia, we are joined by many topics that must be developed," Maduro said. Chavez' aim, he added, was "an agenda of peace and cooperation" and the "political will" was that the region was at peace.
This will be the first bilateral meeting between the two leaders since the Colombian attack on a guerrilla camp inside Ecuador in which the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) deputy leader Raul Reyes was killed on March 1. The attack provoked a crisis in which Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa -- a close ally of Chavez -- broke diplomatic relations with Colombia.
Chavez suspended relations and deployed Venezuelan troops near the border. The troops were later withdrawn, and Chavez has publicly urged the FARC to lay down their arms and free all hostages without condition. Chavez was instrumental in securing the release of six hostages last January.
Since the impasse in March, the two presidents have met on the sidelines of the Rio Group summit in the Dominican Republic and the South American Union (Unasur) meeting in Brasilia. Both sides have expressed hope that relations return to normal as quickly as possible. The meeting will be in Coro, Falcoón state, rather than Miraflores Presidential Palace, as originally planned.
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