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Thursday, July 22, 2010
Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed pacts that seek to reinvigorate their relations in order to overcome their traditional differences on the border.
The French news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that the longstanding controversy between the two countries was discussed in private between the two men. AFP said the two governments signed five agreements, which include the sale to Venezuela of 50,000 tons of rice with oil subsidies which will be paid for through the Petrocaribe energy cooperation mechanism.
It is also expected that Venezuela will export to Guyana, pearl urea, a type of chemical fertilizer, and jet fuel.
Georgetown and Caracas have also agreed to set up a high-level committee to assess various areas of joint cooperation, Venezuelan media reported. Jagdeo arrived early yesterday morning at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, where he was met by Venezuelans Foreign Affairs Minister, Nicolas Maduro. The president was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Harper, the Government Information Agency (GINA), reported last evening.
Meantime, press reports said that Jagdeo was declared a Distinguished Visitor and received the keys to the city of Caracas during a ceremony at the historic Plaza Bolivar, where he also laid a wreath at the Simon Bolivar monument.
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