The bilateral meeting aims to reach agreements on security, defense, and trade.

On Friday, the Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed a private meeting with a high-level Colombian delegation to discuss the bilateral agenda amid their trade war.

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Authorities did not specify the time or location of the meeting, nor whether there would be a subsequent statement. The meeting comes after Ecuador imposed a 30% tariff on Colombian imports on February 1, citing a “lack of reciprocity and firm action” against drug trafficking.

The Colombian delegation is headed by Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez, accompanied by officials from the Ministries of Trade, Mines, and Justice, as well as representatives from the state-owned oil company Ecopetrol.

According to Colombian diplomats, the meeting aims to reach agreements on security and defense. Both parties also seek to agree on concrete steps to restore bilateral exchanges in the border and energy sectors.

Since Colombia set 30% tariffs on more than fifty Ecuadorian products in response, Ecuador raised the transportation fee for Ecopetrol’s crude oil through the Trans-Ecuadorian Pipeline System (SOTE) from US$3 to US$30.

The delegation seeks to reaffirm Colombia’s support for Ecuador in more effectively controlling “transnational organized crime” in the border region. Ecuador has been under a state of “internal armed conflict” since 2024, declared by President Daniel Noboa.

The Andean country ended 2025 with a record number of homicides, totaling 9,216 deaths, which reflects the unprecedented escalation of drug-related violence attributed to criminal organizations.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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