Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa will hold their first formal meeting since 2008 when they attend a Rio Group Summit in Mexico next week.
Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said Colombia will “bring an agenda of proposals and will address sensitive topics” in the hope of “restoring full diplomatic relations” between the two Andean nations.
Correa will meet with his Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino on Friday to discuss the themes to be raised at the meeting, Ecuador’s state-run news agency ANDES reported on Thursday.
The exact time and date of the talks have not been set, but both Uribe and Correa have confirmed that the diplomatic encounter will go ahead.
Relations between the two Andean nations deteriorated following a Colombian attack on a FARC camp in Ecuadorean territory in March 2008, with both countries accused the other of failing to police the border region, which was plagued by illegal armed groups with links to drug trafficking. The relation between two countries began to improve after talks in September last year.
The two presidents spoke informally during lunch recess at a UNASUR meeting in February which was called to discuss an aid package to Haiti.