Colombia and Ecuador activate bilateral agenda to overcome diplomatic and trade crisis

Published at: 06/02/2026 03:29 PM

This Friday, the governments of Colombia and Ecuador activated a bilateral agenda in the city of Quito to overcome the diplomatic and commercial crisis that began last January, and which escalated to a tariff war with impacts on several sectors.

“Colombia and Ecuador activate the high-level bilateral agenda in Quito. Foreign Minister Yolanda Villavicencio began the official visit with a coordination meeting with the Colombian delegation, aimed at strengthening cooperation and advancing joint solutions on strategic issues of mutual interest,” said a statement from the New Granada Foreign Ministry quoted by Sputnik after the meeting.

The meeting was attended by the Colombian Foreign Minister, Rosa Villavicencio; the Minister of Defense of that country, Pedro Sánchez; the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Tito Rufino Yepes Delgad; the Deputy Minister for the Promotion of Justice, Yeffersson Dueñas Gómez; as well as Juan Carlos Bedoya Ceballos and Julián Flórez Quiroga, from the Ministry of Mines and Energy.

Previously, the Colombian Foreign Ministry pointed out the need to reach “understandings in the area of security and defense, as well as to agree on concrete steps for the full restoration of binational exchanges in the border, commercial and energy spheres.”

For its part, Quito has not given details about this Friday's meeting, which will be behind closed doors and without media coverage.

According to the events, trade between the two neighboring nations remains almost paralyzed after the entry into force of the 30 percent tariff imposed by Ecuador.

In this regard, business associations from both countries warned that the simultaneous application of tariffs will cause job losses, price increases and risks of shortages in two highly integrated economies.

Mazo News Team