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Chávez receives letter from Fidel
Twelve new joint ventures, 16 agreements signed
CARACAS, January 24.—Integration
in all contexts between Venezuela and Cuba was
strengthened today by a set of agreements in the
transport, communications, finance, agriculture,
mining, industry, tourism and energy sectors, signed
in the presence of President Hugo Chávez and Carlos
Lage, vice president of the Cuban Council of State.
During the signing of the
agreements, Chávez said that he had received a
letter from Fidel in which it is noticeable that the
Cuban president’s signature is steady and sure. He
held it up and went on to tell the leader of the
Cuban Revolution to continue making progress
“because we need you, we love you and we hope that
we will soon have another meeting of the kind that
we have had in recent years.”
According to Prensa Latina, the
Venezuelan president underlined the strategic
importance of cooperation with Cuba in the most
diverse areas, developed within the framework of the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).
Speaking during the signing of 16
agreements covering a wide spectrum of economic
activities, Chávez endorsed the significance of the
mechanisms put in place this Wednesday by
authorities of the two nations.
In that context, he mentioned
that the documents include the creation of 12 joint
ventures, complementing others already in existence.
For his part, Lage emphasized the
advances in relations between Venezuela and Cuba
which initiated the new integration underway in the
Latin American region. He recalled previously signed
agreements and announced more to be formalized in
February, when the Joint Intergovernmental
Commission meets.
Today, President Chávez received
the vice president of the Council of State of Cuba
at Miraflores Palace shortly before eight working
commissions were installed to put the final touches
to agreements already drawn up by experts from both
nations.
The Cuban delegation also
included Yadira García, minister of basic industry;
Jorge Luis Sierra, minister of transport; Ramiro
Valdés, minister of informatics and communication;
Marta Lomas, minister of foreign investment and
economic cooperation; Fernando Acosta, minister of
the iron, steel and heavy machines industry;
Francisco Soberón, minister president of the Central
Bank; Manuel Marrero, minister of tourism; Georgina
Barreiro, minister of finance and prices; María del
Carmen Pérez, acting minister of agriculture; and
Ambassador Germán Sánchez.
At Fidel’s request, Lage gave the
Venezuelan leader a copy of Granma daily
containing an article recalling the
Commander-in-Chief’s historical visit to Caracas in
January 1959, when he advocated Venezuela’s vanguard
place in Latin American integration.
The importance of the agreements
signed this Wednesday by the two countries was
underlined by José Khan, Venezuelan minister of
basic industry and mining, who highlighted the
investments in the iron and steel industry –
particularly in stainless steel – given that his
country currently imports that product and can stop
doing so with the aid of Cuban nickel.
Other documents are related to
rice production in Venezuela to export to Cuba and a
credit line to improve the island’s railroad system.
According to the Bolivarian News
Agency, that country’s delegation included Vice
President Jorge Rodríguez; Foreign Minister Nicolás
Maduro; Rafael Ramírez, minister of energy and oil;
Olga Aguaje, tourism minister; and the minister of
telecommunications and information.
Translated by Granma International
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