Ecuador and Colombia recently announced that they will begin steps to establish diplomatic relations at the charge d'affairs level by the end of October.
During a press conference on September 24, the nation's foreign ministers thanked The Carter Center and the Organization of American States for assisting their diplomatic efforts. The Center has been working with the two nations since March 2008 to facilitate communication between them and encourage the resumption of relations.
The ministers invited Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center's Americas Program, as well as the secretary general of the OAS to attend a meeting on the border of Ecuador-Colombia on Oct. 9 to install the working groups to begin the normalization of relations. The ministers asked The Carter Center and the OAS to facilitate the working group on sensitive issues – those issues still needing resolution.
"This latest development in late September was very promising, and we expect that the announced exchange of charge d'affairs will make it easier to develop mechanisms of cooperation and resolve the remaining disputes," said Jennifer McCoy, director of the Carter Center's Americas Program. "The Center is working with the OAS to help resolve quickly the remaining contentious issues."
Colombia and Ecuador broke diplomatic relations on March 3, 2008, after a Colombian military attack on a FARC camp inside Ecuador's sovereign territory.
The Carter Center, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has supported the work of a dialogue group composed of distinguished citizens from Ecuador and Colombia to improve relations between the two countries since September 2007.
To read more:
August 7, 2008: Carter Center Works to Improve Bilateral Relationship Between Colombia and Ecuador
June 27, 2008: Carter Center to Continue Ecuador-Colombia Reconciliation Efforts
June 18, 2008: Soccer as a Symbol of Brotherhood Between Colombia and Ecuador
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