British News Agency

Colombian President Petro stated that his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump re-established a direct and open dialogue, noting that differences of opinion would be addressed on the basis of mutual respect.

Emphasizing the need to establish objective and scientific verification mechanisms to eliminate coca leaf cultivation, Petro said: “In the Nariño region, we achieved our greatest success, with 15,000 hectares in process, and the number of farmers registered in the Renacer program is rapidly increasing.”

Petro noted that he supports a military buffer at the border but stressed that borders should remain open for peoples, adding: “Technical working teams should be established for electricity interconnection with Venezuela, as well as for natural gas and light oil connections. I invite the Venezuelan government to concretize these projects with my energy team and hold meetings on the ground.”

Petro also underlined that military and police cooperation among Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Colombia is critical in the fight against armed and transnational narcotics trafficking.

Presenting the United States with a plan covering the ‘three Americas’ for energy integration and increased production based on clean energy, Petro said: “Latin America has a clean energy potential five times greater than the current electricity production of the United States. Integration in clean energies will be the key to unity and peace.”