Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said the excellent relations between Peru and Ecuador hold lessons for other countries in the region and their joint work will ensure well-being of the two nations.
After recalling the peace agreement inked by Peru and Ecuador in Brasilia on October 26, 1998, which ended the border conflict, Correa pointed out this contributed to the regional peace, as no armed confrontation has occurred between two south American countries since then.
The last warlike clash, in 1995, paved the way for definitive peace after several armed conflicts occurred in the last century in a area with no boundary markers in the so called Cordillera del Condor, a mountain range in the Eastern Andes.
“We finally realized that definitive peace was a repressed wish shared by both sides, that there was a common feeling of brotherhood, that conflict had lasted too long and that it only perpetuated poverty and inequity in the border region,” Correa was quoted as saying by news agency Andes.
After 20 years of the last armed conflict, current bilateral relations have set an example for the region and the world, said the Ecuadorian leader.
The two countries entered a new phase after signing the said peace treaty, and made up for lost time regarding development and well-being of citizens.
The war broke out officially on January 26, 1995 and ended on February 28th. Thirty-three Ecuadorian soldiers lost their lives in this war.
He said that since his government started in 2007, peace agreements have advanced much more than in previous years.
Mr. Correa also noted the carrying out of eight binational cabinets between Ecuador and Peru, in order to "work as a single government for the welfare of our peoples."
(END) INT/AND/RMB/MVB
Published: 1/27/2015