Colombia, Venezuela pleased with
settlement of diplomatic rift
Colombian and Venezuelan leaders
on Saturday hailed the
settlement of the diplomatic
crisis aroused bythe capture of
a Colombian rebel leader, saying
the impasse was solved in a
positive way.
"The positive way in which the
impasse was solved between both
countries shows that we have the
capacity to solve difficult
situations in the best way
possible," Venezuela's Vice
President Jose Vicente Rangel
said.
On the Colombian side, President
Alvaro Uribe hailed the
settlement as "a good
opportunity to continue with
bilateral infrastructure and
social projects to build
prosperous nations."
Uribe said he will hold a
meeting on Feb. 3 in Caracas
with his Venezuelan counterpart
Hugo Chavez, "in order to listen
to President Chavez and propose
to him some reflections."
Bilateral relations soured after
the alleged arrest of Rodrigo
Granda, foreign relations chief
of Colombia's rebel group, the
Revolutionary Armed forces of
Colombia, in December by
Colombian law-enforcement
personnel.
Venezuela accused Colombia of
abducting Granda on the
Venezuelan soil, while Colombia
insisted the capture took place
within its borders.
President Chavez recalled
Venezuela's ambassador from
Bogota and froze diplomatic and
commercial relations with
Colombia and demanded a public
apology from Colombia.
After six weeks of standoff, the
two governments announced on
Friday that they had patched up
their relationship.
ANCOM hails Colombia-Venezuela
reconciliation after diplomatic
rift
The Andean Community (ANCOM) on
Saturday welcomed the
reconciliation between
Colombia-Venezuela after a
diplomatic crisis, hailing the
end of the crisis as an evidence
of the efficiency of the Andean
mechanisms and the aspiration
for regional integration.
ANCOM Secretary General Allan
Wagner described the
reconciliation as a proof of the
efficiency of the Andean
mechanisms and the advantages of
the negotiation and dialogue
mechanisms among countries of
the region.
Colombia and Venezuela announced
Friday the settlement of their
diplomatic crisis triggered last
December by the disputed capture
of Colombian rebel leader
Rodrigo Granda on Venezuelan
soil.
The attitude of Colombia and
Venezuela about a rapid
resolution to the conflict
confirms a shared will in the
region to deepen thei ntegration
process and to reinforce the
recently created South American
Community of Nations, said
Wagner.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Manuel
Rodriguez had a special
contribution to the prompt
settlement of the problem, said
Wagner, referring to the
mediation of Rodriguez as
President of the AndeanCouncil
for Foreign Affairs.
Peru also issued a communique on
Saturday expressing its
satisfaction with the diplomatic
solution to the
Colombia-Venezuela crisis.
According to local press, the
solution was made possible
through a direct dialogue
between foreign ministers of
Colombia, Carolina Barco and
Venezuela, Ali Rodriguez, with
the mediation of their Peruvian
counterpart, Manuel Rodriguez,
and the participation of other
countries.
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World Bank offers $600 mln loan
for Guatemala
The World Bank (WB) said
Saturday that it will grant a
loan of 600 million US dollars
to Guatemala for education, the
fight against corruption and
other projects.
The loan is expected to be
disbursed in four years. But it
is up to the WB Board in
Washington to decide in April
whether the amount will be
delivered in totality.
The money will be repaid in 15
to 20 years with an interest
rate of 5 percent.
The loan was announced at the
end of a visit to the Central
American country by a WB
mission, reports from Guatemala
said.
Jane Armitage, WB Director for
Central America, said the
mission had held meetings with
representatives of the
Guatemalan government, Congress,
businessmen, civil society and
universities in a bid to
evaluate the country's economic
realities.
According to Armitage, annual
loans given by the WB to
Guatemala amount to some 300
million dollars.
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