MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Carter helps bring Ecuador and Colombia closer

Former US president Jimmy Carter.

Ecuador and Colombia Presidents have accepted to renew diplomatic relations at the level of Chargé d'Affairs immediately and with no pre conditions following on a proposal from former US president Jimmy Carter.

The founder of The Carter Center and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jimmy Carter, together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have 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. In the context of this initiative and taking into account the events that happened on March 1, 2008, President Carter has communicated several times with Presidents Rafael Correa Delgado of Ecuador and Álvaro Uribe Vélez of Colombia and has coordinated his good offices with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) José Miguel Insulza. In his most recent telephone conversations, President Carter consulted each president about the possibility of renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries immediately and without preconditions, initially at the level of Chargé d'Affairs. Both presidents confirmed their willingness to do so immediately, through their respective foreign ministries. The Carter Center said the reestablishment of diplomatic relations will also contribute to the confidence-building initiatives led by the OAS and the efforts of both countries to renew cooperative mechanisms to address the common problems they face.