Presidents Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela) and Lula da Silva (Brazil) were present during the signing of cooperation agreements between their countries in concurrent meetings held on Tuesday in Brasilia.
Venezuela and Brazil signed an agri-food Memorandum of Understanding in the Itamaraty Palace, where 11 South American presidents were meeting to foster new forms of regional integration.
Venezuelan agricultural Minister Wilmar Castro and Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira inked an agreement to strengthen cooperation in agricultural, livestock, and food sovereignty.
Vieira and Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a supervision and follow-up mechanism for the Brazil-Venezuela Bilateral Cooperation Program, which aims to promote technical cooperation through the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
Gil and Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva signed the Agreement for the Establishment of the Neighborhood and Integration Commission on Tuesday, which will boost cooperation in common border zones and business complementarity.
Presidents Maduro and Gustavo Petro ratified their pledge to consolidate diplomatic relations between their countries during the ceremony, which will be continued in August 2022, when Petro assumes the Colombian presidency.
Maduro and Petro also agreed to begin searching for the bodies of Colombians murdered by paramilitary organizations in the 2000s and 2010s. Salvatore Mancuso, the former head of Colombia’s United Self-Defense Forces (AUC), informed the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) that these remains were thrown on Venezuelan soil.
