Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez today expressed her country’s willingness to return to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) under “new conditions” and considering its “potential.”
“President Nicolás Maduro has spoken of Venezuela’s return to the Andean Community, to the Andean Community, under new conditions, under new terms that take into account not only the vulnerabilities of our country as a blockaded country but also its potential. And here the role of CAF is fundamental,” she said.
The vice president made the statement at the headquarters of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF, Development Bank of Latin America) in Caracas.
According to her, the resumption of relations between Venezuela and Colombia is an opportunity to resume the integration bloc with the support of the regional financial mechanism.
“The integration of our countries and the return of Venezuela to the Andean Community has and will undoubtedly have important repercussions on relations in terms of true integration in the service of development,” stressed the second chairman of the Executive.
For Rodríguez, the resumption of relations between Caracas and Bogotá is “good news for the world,” both for its historical dimension and for its potential.
There is only one path for our region, and that is integration,” she affirmed, calling on CAF to “take these very great potentials and transform them into happiness and development for our peoples.”
In her speech, Delcy Rodríguez recalled that Venezuela had made progress despite the blockade. In this regard, she highlighted the resistance and resilience of the Venezuelan people in overcoming unilateral coercive measures.
Despite being one of the most blockaded countries in the world, his country has now “grown for four consecutive quarters, and that is good news for the country, for the Venezuelan people, for the productive sectors.”
Venezuela withdrew from the Andean Community in 2006 after Colombia and Peru decided to sign a free trade agreement with the United States.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro proposed the South American nation’s return last month, who suggested the Andean Community reintegrate Venezuela and Chile into the regional bloc to “be stronger.”