The cash will help create small businesses and should finance infrastructure projects along the border, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said after four hours of talks in the Caribbean port of Cartagena with his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe.
Venezuela is Colombia’s biggest trade partner after the U.S., making it vulnerable to a slowdown in Venezuela.
The two leaders also discussed ways to increase primary manufacturing enabling car components to be made locally from the region’s natural resources.
