Colombia’s President, Alvaro Uribe, announced on Wednesday that his country had made a constructive advance to restoring diplomatic relations with neighbouring Ecuador.
Uribe’s announcement came after journalists’ questions regarding the meeting this Friday between Colombia’s Foreign Minister, Jaime Bermudez, and his Ecuadorian counterpart, Fander Falconi.
Press agency EFE reported that the Colombian Defense Minister also declared today his intentions to meet with his Ecuadorian counterpart to discuss collaboration strategies for the eradication of at least two alleged FARC guerrilla encampments in Ecuadorian territory.
Ecuador broke relations with Colombia in March 2008, two days after the Colombian Army conducted an operation against a FARC camp in Ecuador without informing Ecuadorian Authorities.
Two weeks ago, after several bilateral meetings in New York, Bermudez and Falconi announced that they were prepared to begin “direct dialogue” to repair diplomatic relations.
The Secretary General for the Organization of American States is due to be present at the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers on Friday.