Stand Firmly Against Attempts To Destabilise PetroCaribe - Cuba

Stand Firmly Against Attempts To Destabilise PetroCaribe - Cuba
Published:Monday | September 7, 2015 Daraine Luton

Cuba has served a warning to countries of the region not to allow any
outside forces to destroy the PetroCaribe, a facility created by the
late left-wing leader, Hugo Ch·vez, which the vice-president of the
State Council of Cuba, Salvador Valdes Mesa, says deserves deep
appreciation and gratitude.

Valdes, speaking during the commemoration of the 10th Summit of Heads of
State and Government of PetroCaribe, held at the Montego Bay Convention
Centre in St James on Saturday, said "any attempt to destroy or
destabilise" PetroCaribe should be "faced with determination".

He said if PetroCaribe were to fail, it would only mean "greater
dependence, destabilisation and division in our region".

The PetroCaribe agreement, started 10 years ago, allows participating
countries to hold back up to 40 per cent of the cost of oil purchased
from Venezuela to be used for developmental purposes.

Former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson recalled that 10 years ago
in Jamaica, Hugo Ch·vez, co-chairman of the PetroCaribe Summit, endorsed
once again the Bolivarian vision "to put into use all the resources for
public prosperity; to improve, educate and perfect the New World."

Valdes said PetroCaribe has been "the most effective pillar to ensure
energy security in the region and contributed to the reduction of
asymmetries and economic development of our peoples. It has been
possible, thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution and Ch·vez of Venezuela,
in respect to self-sovereignty, their solidarity and integration, driven
by Commander Hugo Ch·vez's vocation."

"If all countries with energy resources or other do the same as
Venezuela, [we would] live on a fairer, developed, equitable, united and
peaceful planet," he said.

MODEL FOR COOPERATION
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said PetroCaribe is a
model for the cooperation and solidarity that was the instrument which
shattered predictions about its eventual impossibility.

"Today, we have a (hopeful) Caribbean. Today, we have a Caribbean
future. Today, we have a Caribbean that has learnt to walk with their
own feet, to think for ourselves and join hands to build their present
and to build their future," Maduro said through an interpreter.

The Venezuelan president said while PetroCaribe has achieved much, more
has to be done to "consolidate energy security from different sources".

His comments come even as Jamaica and countries of the region embrace a
United States-led energy initiative.

In January, US Vice-president Joseph Biden invited Caribbean heads of
state and government to Washington as part of his Caribbean Energy
Security Initiative, which is aimed at helping to move small-island
governments away from fossil fuels.

The White House has said that a concerted effort is being made to
"provide assistance to Caribbean islands on difficult policy and
regulatory reforms that can attract the private finance required to
implement new energy technologies and approaches".

One such initiative is the Overseas Private Investment Corporation,
which will dedicate resources to the Caribbean to facilitate deals that
match US government financing with strong energy projects.

Jamaica's Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said at the PetroCaribe
commemorative summit that "the future of the PetroCaribe Agreement is
infused with hope and even greater possibilities".

"The establishment of the PetroCaribe Economic Zone and the Plan of
Action for Hunger Eradication and Poverty are two major initiatives
currently under way that are poised to strengthen the economic,
cultural, social and productive foundations of partner countries," she said.

"These developments provide a clear indication of the expansion of
PetroCaribe beyond its energy focus, to embrace critical issues facing
the broader development agenda of the region," the prime minister said
of a plan which Maduro suggested would require "a lot of political will"
and unity for it to succeed.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com

Source: Stand firmly against attempts to destabilise PetroCaribe - Cuba
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