Venezuela, Colombia agree to partially reopen borderAugust 12, 2016 - 11:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Colombia and Venezuela have agreed to partially reopen their border, almost a year after it was closed, BBC News reports. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro announced that the frontier would be opened on Saturday, August 13. During the first stage only pedestrians will be allowed to cross in five places along the 2,200km (1,370 miles) border. Maduro shut the border on security grounds. Many Colombians were expelled, and bilateral trade has since fallen. The two presidents said that the five crossings would be open daily from 08:00 to 20:00 local time (13:00-01:00 GMT). President Maduro said improvements in bilateral relations and security had enabled Venezuela and Colombia to take a number of decisions, including the reopening of the border. He said the measures would be "well received by our peoples", Telesur television network reports. Meanwhile, President Santos was quoted as saying that "it will be a provisional opening as we learn and adjust our decisions every step of the way". Colombia and Venezuela also agreed to work towards the full reopening of the border, saying they needed first to reach separate agreements on security, commerce and energy. Maduro ordered the border to be closed in August 2015 after former Colombian paramilitaries attacked a Venezuelan military patrol and wounded three soldiers. In July, Venezuela twice opened the border to allow people to cross over to shop for basic foods and medicines. Nearly 200,000 people entered Colombia. Many basic goods are in short supply in Venezuela because of a severe economic crisis in the country. Venezuela has suffered severe shortages for months as a result of the falling price of oil which is the country's prime source of income. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |