Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said on Tuesday that he is glad to see his country and Colombia continue to restore full ties, which were severed in March 2008.

Noting the presence of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the extraordinary Summit of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) being held here, Correa noted at a press conference that both countries have taken important steps to restore their relations.

"We have officials in charge of the business (of restoring ties). In this sense, the visit of President Uribe is very positive," he added.

Correa said even if Uribe had visited Ecuador one day after the Colombian army bombed a guerilla camp in Ecuador in March 2008, his country would have treated him with the same respect.

"It is not about personal feelings. He is the representative of a brother country that is linked to us via fraternal ties," he said.

Correa also said nobody can deny what happen on March 1, 2008, when Colombia bombed Ecuadorian territory, and he wished that "the Ecuadorian people have learnt a bit from this experience."

He will defend his country's dignity at any time, he stressed.

But the president said the best thing for the moment is to normalize ties with Colombia as soon as possible within a frame of sovereignty and dignity. "And I think we have been working on it," he added.

On March 1, 2008, Colombian forces staged a cross-border raid on a guerrilla camp in Ecuador, prompting Correa to break off ties with Colombia.

Although no formal meeting of Ecuadorian and Colombian presidents was scheduled during the Unasur summit in Quito, the two nations began taking steps to restore ties late last year to restore full relations. Diplomatic envoys were named and military ties were re-established.