The Ninth Ministerial Meeting of PetroCaribe and the Summit of Heads held in Caracas, Venezuela on May 4 and 5 saw an agreement that the programme will be continued in its present form and that states will review proposals for a PetroCaribe economic zone to further strengthen ties.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) Dr Mahender Sharma represented Guyana at the meeting.
When Stabroek News sought a comment from Hinds about the outcome of the meeting and what it may mean for Guyana, he said while he had prepared a statement, he was awaiting clearance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prior to releasing it. Stabroek News understands that Takuba Lodge was up to last night awaiting confirmation on the final position on the summit from Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela Geoffrey Da Silva.
Sharma said he would be providing a statement on the summit during this week.
PetroCaribe is a Venezuelan initiative spaw-ned out of rising oil prices where Guyana along with 12 Caricom member states, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, signed on at the first regional summit in Puerto La Cruz in 2005. It was announced at the summit that Honduras and Guatemala have joined the programme.
At the summit, it was agreed that the states will establish an ad hoc working group to assess the regulations related to regional economic cooperation, analyse underutilised comparative advantages of the region, and gather the necessary information for conducting a feasibility study on the proposed PetroCaribe economic zone.
This ad hoc working group will also be tasked with exchanging experiences related to regional integration initiatives and include them in the development of the economic zone.
Concerns were rife that the landmark programme which President Hugo Chavez commenced in 2005 would become unsustainable for the Venezuelan economy and would eventually be scrapped. It was a talking point during the recent elections in Venezuela. There was also concern that had Chavez’s protégé Nicolas Maduro not won the election PetroCaribe would have been in jeopardy.
Media reports following the summit state that Venezuelan Oil and Mining Minister Rafael Ramirez said the initiative will widen the role of PetroCaribe beyond that of just providing oil to member states at favourable prices.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ramirez said the proposal will allow the group of nations to strengthen and develop fair exchange among themselves.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaican Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell said the Venezuelan government gave its assurance the deal will continue. According to the report, Paulwell said the Jamaican government is grateful for the continuation of the pact by the Nicolas Maduro-led government. Paulwell said Jamaica would be looking to maximise on the PetroCaribe arrangement.
According to the Gleaner report, the Jamaican energy minister spoke of holding discussions with his Venezuelan counterpart on a trade compensation agreement “as it relates to Jamaica fulfilling its payments under the PetroCaribe deal.”
He said Jamaica welcomes the establishment of an economic zone among PetroCaribe member states and this will strengthen Jamaica’s competitiveness.
Ambassador Anthony Liverpool, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Laurie Louard, Operations Manager at PDV CARIBE, Antigua and Barbuda Ltd represented Antigua and Barbuda at the summit.
A release from the Antigua and Barbuda Office of the Prime Minister said that currently there are over 7, 500 persons who are benefiting from the PetroCaribe programmes in Antigua and Barbuda.
