September 28, 2004
Venezuela plans to increase trade with Colombia
(Últimas Noticias) - "Last year there was a decrease in the commerce between the two countries, due to a strike of two months which tried without any result to overthrow President Chávez, and which cost $7,500 millions to Venezuela, the fifth oil exporter in the world.

The President of the Banco de Comercio Exterior -Bancoex- (Bank of Foreign Commerce) in Caracas declared that Venezuela is hoping that commerce with Colombia will reach $2,000 millions this year, on the top of $1,400 millions registered in 2003.

Víctor Alvarez, President of Bancoex, said that the two neighbor countries are collaborating on a series of common commercial projects, one of which includes the promotion of products made in Latin America.

Alvarez declared to the official press that there are various linked projects which aim to realize Latin American integration, in particular between Venezuela and Colombia (…)

In July, Venezuela and Colombia announced the intention to built a pipeline for natural gas, worth $200 millions, as part of a regional energy net, in order to gain access to the markets in Asia and US west coast.

The President of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe and the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chávez, also discussed the possibility of building an oil pipeline which crosses Colombia to the Pacific Ocean to support Venezuelan exportations".