The first four months of 2023 marked a significant 102% increase in Venezuela’s exports to Colombia, according to an announcement by the Venezuelan News Agency on Sunday.
In the mentioned period, the value of Venezuelan exports to Colombia was reported at US$48 million, stated Luis Alberto Russian, President of the Venezuelan-Colombian Economic Integration Chamber, cited by the agency.
This figure compares favorably to last year’s period when exports stood at US$22.6 million.
Furthermore, the business leader noted that the overall bilateral trade increased by 44%, surging from US$164 million in the January-April period of 2022 to US$2.367 billion in the same period of 2023.
This growth in trade has been attributed to the normalization of relations between Venezuela and Colombia, which started following the inauguration of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in August of the previous year.
One of the initial steps towards restoring the ties between these South American nations was reopening their shared border, which remained closed during the first term of the former Colombian President Iván Duque (2018-2022).
In February of 2023, the governments of both nations signed the so-called Partial Scope Agreement No. 28, which legally frames the commercial relations between the two countries.