WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2020) US Secretary of State on Monday met with Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric in Bogota to discuss the upcoming elections in the South American country and ways to improve economic ties between the two countries, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a press release.
"Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met with Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric today in Bogota. Secretary Pompeo congratulated Foreign Minister Longaric on the new elections scheduled for May 3 and commended the transitional government's collaboration with Bolivia's National Assembly to establish a new Electoral Tribunal," the statement, published on Monday evening, read.
Pompeo and Longaric also discussed ways to improve bilateral relations between the US and Bolivia, particularly in the economic sphere, the State Department press release stated.
During the meeting in the Colombian capital, Pompeo stressed the US' commitment to fair and transparent elections, the statement said.
Bolivia has had an interim government since former President Evo Morales resigned under a wave of public pressure. Morales was victorious in an October 20 election, but opposition lawmakers cited alleged irregularities in the vote-counting process.
The US has strongly supported Bolivia's current interim government, and President Donald Trump announced on January 7 that he was removing restrictions on foreign aid to the South American country.
Ex-President Morales, who is living in Argentina in exile, announced on Sunday that former economy minister Luis Arce Catacora will run as the Movement for Socialism party's candidate for president in the upcoming elections.
