Venezuela, Colombia agree to enhance border cooperation

Venezuela and Colombia agreed on Friday to enhance their border cooperation with the opening of an upgraded customs office. The office, located at El Amparo in the Venezuela's southwestern state of Apure bordering Colombia's Arauca state, is to benefit the border people, to allow the transaction of all the imports and exports and to fight cross-border smuggling, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said. Jaua and his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin also agreed to extend and improve the Jose Antonio Paez bridge connecting Apure and Arauca, which was built in 1967. They agreed that both countries' transportation ministers will discuss an infrastructure project for the new international bridge and a Transportation Committee will be designated for the inspection of the bridge. Holguin expressed her satisfaction that both governments show their willingness to fulfill their commitments on binational projects that can benefit the two peoples. Venezuela and Colombia share a 2,200-km border that stretches from the Caribbean Sea to the Amazon jungle.