Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made his first official visit to Ecuador on Monday, accompanied by Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguín and Minister of Transportation Germán Cardona Gutiérrez. President Santos met with his Ecuadorian counterpart, President Rafael Correa, to discuss ways to cooperate on trade, infrastructure and security.
One of the early outcomes of the visit was an agreement to consider flights between Quito and Bogotá as domestic travel, which President Santos said would avoid “red tape and cost overruns.” The leaders also pledged to agree on a maritime boundary and announced the construction of a bridge above the Mataje River that would join the coasts of both countries.
Minister Holguín also announced yesterday that both presidents seek to end the conflict involving truckers along the border. The Colombian Truckers Association began a protest in October, claiming that Ecuador’s truckers, by failing to comply with regulations established in the Community of Andean Nations regarding the transportation of cargo, created unfair competition.
President Santos’ visit comes almost four years after Colombian security forces conducted a deadly attack against a FARC camp on Ecuadorian territory in March 2008. President Correa pledged Ecuador’s commitment to cross-border security, saying “any criminal group that comes to Ecuador from Colombia will be sent back.”
