November
20, 2004
Venezuela
President's 5-nation tour stresses trade
and oil policy
(EFE News Service) - "Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez departs for
Spain, where he will kick off the five-nation
tour that was almost cancelled due to
the recent car-bomb assassination of special
prosecutor Danilo Anderson.
The car-bomb victim had been leading the
investigation of 400 Chávez opponents
implicated in the putsch of April 11,
2002, which unseated the president for
48 hours.
The lethal attack forced Chávez
to cancel his trip to Costa Rica where
he was to take part in the Ibero-American
Summit being held 20 and 21 of November.
Officials in Caracas have said that the
presidential trip to Europe, Africa and
Asia will have an economic focus, with
particular emphasis on oil policy.
Venezuela, a founding member of the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
and the world's fifth largest oil exporter,
forecasts economic growth of between 12-13
percent this year.
The nation's oil industry expectes revenues
of some $26 billion in 2004, or 30 percent
more than in 2003, thanks to stabilized
production and high oil prices on international
markets, the state-owned Petróleos
de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) said.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero will receive Chávez in
Madrid, where the Venezuelan President
will also meet with Defense Minister José
Bono and pay tribute to the victims to
the March 11 terrorist attacks in the
Spanish capital.
Since the Socialist victory in Spain's
general elections in March, Chávez
has made shoring up relations with the
European nation a top priority.
Venezuelan Information Minister Andrés
Izarra said bilateral ties "were
in a slump" during the previous administration
of José María Aznar of Spain's
conservative Popular Party.
Economic analysts agree that Chávez's
triumph in the August referendum on his
presidency - which confirmed his right
to serve out his mandate until January
2007 - along with the positive economic
forecast, have caught the attention of
foreign investors.
From Madrid Chávez will travel
to Libya. The Venezuelan leader plans
to arrive in Moscow on Nov. 25 for a three-day
visit, during which he will meet with
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to
sign several bilateral energy agreements
and purchase a number of combat helicopters
for the air force.
Bilateral energy accords will also top
the agenda during Chávez's trip
to Iran - the world's second biggest oil
exporter - where he will sign purchase
orders for agricultural machinery.
Chávez's last stop will be Qatar,
a small 11,000 square-kilometer (4,247
square-mile) emirate on the eastern coast
of the Arabian peninsula, which has one
of the world's largest natural-gas reserves
and wide experience in developing this
resource.
Once Chávez returns home on December
2nd , he will begin gearing up for an
official visit later in the month to China,
which has become one of the South American
nation's top trading partners".
