November
15, 2004
Venezuela expects rise
in Colombia trade (The Associated
Press, reproduced by The New York Times)
- "Venezuela expects trade with
Colombia to reach $2.5 billion this year,
a 73 percent increase over 2003, Venezuela's
ambassador to Colombia said.
Carlos Santiago said bilateral trade between
the two neighboring South American nations
would rise 'above historic levels'' in
coming years.
Trade between oil-rich Venezuela and Colombia
reached $1.8 billion in 2002. Trade dipped
below $1.5 billion last year, partly due
to the effects of a devastating two-month
strike that failed to oust Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez.
(...)Chávez and Colombian President
Alvaro Uribe met on Nov. 10 to discuss
trade and investment during a one-day
summit in the Colombian city of Cartagena.
In July, Venezuela and Colombia agreed
to build a $200 million natural gas pipeline
as part of a regional energy network to
gain access to Asian and U.S. West Coast
markets(...)".
