Venezuela and Colombia will fully reopen their shared border on January 1,2023 to allow passage of cargo and passenger transport via the cross-border Tienditas bridge, Reuters cited Colombia Migration as saying in a statement on Saturday.

The South American countries already reopened in September their border crossing in the Tachira state, in western Venezuela, after political ties strengthened under Colombia’s new president, Gustavo Petro.

Petro and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, appointed ambassadors in Caracas and Bogota, respectively.

Colombian authorities have said since September that the reopening of the shared 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) border between the two countries would be progressive.

Last week, Venezuelan government officials were supervising the infrastructure of the Tienditas bridge.

The commercial exchange between the two countries is worth around $580 million, according to official data from Colombia.

Source: Saudi Press Agency