Venezuela Boosts Econ Dvlpmt, Security on Colombian Border

Caracas, Aug. 24. -The Venezuelan government is moving to step up economic development and security along the border it shares with Colombia, a high-crime area.

The initiatives include boosting the production and transport sectors in the state of Tachira, as deploying soldiers and the Bolivarian National Police to guarantee citizen security.

The western Venezuelan state is frequently affected by smuggling activities, drug trafficking, paramilitarism, kidnapping, extortion, and the existence of hired assassins, problems linked to the internal conflict in neighbouring Colombian.

A working committee headed by Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro with the ministers of defense and the interior, Carlos Mata and Tareck El Aissami, was held on Monday to discuss the situation in the border zones and step up their social and economic development and security.

According to Maduro, meetings will continue in the following days to set measures that meet the populationâ�Ös needs and requirements.

The government's actions come within the framework of its closer relations with Colombia, brought about by the meeting of Venezuelan and Colombian presidents Hugo Chavez and Juan Manuel Santos, and the five binational commissions created. (Prensa Latina)