Arce reiterated that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) is the mechanism that should encourage reflection on the urgent need for greater integration between peoples.
“Bolivia emphasizes the importance of having relevant projects for the region, such as the Bi-Oceanic Integration Rail Corridor project, which unites Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, as an initiative of interest for strengthening physical integration and socio-economic development and the articulation of the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean,” he said.
Official sources indicate that this integration route will reduce costs and time in international goods transport as it will give Bolivia direct access to ports in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Public Works Minister Édgar Montaño told the press last July that the national government would invest more than 3.2 billion bolivianos ($457 million) in the construction of the Bi-Oceanic Integration Rail Corridor by 2025.
For their part, sources from the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the press that Bolivia and Brazil are working on fine-tuning agreements in the areas of agriculture, industry, border security and the development of the bi-national corridor.
This route will facilitate the export of Bolivian products to Pacific markets quickly and efficiently, it said.
Gustavo Petro, meanwhile, proposed building a railway linking Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Venezuela in his speech at Tuesday’s Celac summit.
“Can’t the Pacific be integrated by a train connecting our capitals and reaching the Atlantic through Venezuelan and Colombian territory?” asked the President.
Petro added that this railroad will help the Plurinational State, which is currently struggling to reach other neighboring states due to lack of access to the sea.
“Wouldn’t Bolivia have a chance? If there is no sea Wouldn’t it be possible to connect to both the Pacific and the Atlantic? The issue of trains (…) is on the right track,” concluded Petro.
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