February 1, 2005
Strategic alliance between Argentina and Venezuela

(Argentine news agency Telam, reproduced by BBC Monitoring Service) - "Presidents Néstor Kirchner and Hugo Chávez signed four agreements and commitments related to oil, agriculture, health care and the construction of four ships in Argentina. These agreements will serve as the framework for a ' strategic alliance' between Argentina and Venezuela.

The most extensive document was the one signed between PDVSA (Venezuelan Petroleum, SA) and CAMMESA (Argentine Electricity Wholesale Market Management Company, SA) to supply significant volumes of liquid fuels.

Under this agreement PDVSA will supply CAMMESA with 'liquid fuel products derived from hydrocarbons', which will consist of 'up to a total of 8m barrels' of fuel oil and 'up to a total of 1m barrels' of diesel fuel a year.

In return, Argentina will send Venezuela agricultural and health-care products, basically in a barter type of commercial arrangement, using a special fund set up between the governments of the two countries.

As an example, under one of these agreements, the Argentine government shipped to Caracas 1,000 heifers of the Dutch-Argentine breed and the purchase of an additional 3,000 head of cattle was also announced.

An Argentine agricultural machinery exhibition in Venezuela was also formally set for April.

The memorandum of understanding between the Argentine and Venezuelan Ministries of Health calls for sending Argentine equipment to provide radiation therapy for people with cancer and 160 lifts for use in hospitals.

Argentina and Venezuela also signed a framework agreement covering the 'development of scientific research, training of human resources and the development and application of technical and social intervention projects in the fields of healthcare, health-care economics and the social sciences'.

Meanwhile, Kirchner and Chávez signed an agreement that will cover the construction of four ships by Argentina's Rio Santiago Shipyards for the PDV Marine company in Venezuela.

They also signed a commitment to create 'a strategic alliance' between this Argentine shipyard and National Docks and Shipyards of Venezuela".