Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, Fander Falconi, confirmed that he will meet with his Colombian counterpart, Jaime Bermudez, on Friday to rearrange the meeting schedule for the restoration of diplomatic relations.
This announcement was made following the recent postponement of the committee on security and border development which should have occured last week in Ecuador. This Friday’s meeting is due to take place in the Colombian frontier city of Ipiales, reported Colombian media on Thursday.
The third meeting between the two countries is still set for November 3. “We have had to rearrange the entire agenda with Colombia a little … but so far everything is still on track,” assured Falconi.
Ecuador broke diplomatic ties with Colombia on March 3 2008, two days after the Colombian army bombed a FARC guerrilla encampment on Ecuadorian soil without previously notifying Ecuador’s authorities.
The operation killed some 26 people including the international spokesman of the FARC, alias Raul Reyes, Ecuador’s Franklin Aisalla and four Mexican university students.