(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said it would be “offensive” if she does not travel to Venezuela on the invitation of President Hugo Chavez.
Persad-Bissessar has, however, signalled her intention to shorten the duration of her trip to Venezuela.
Persad-Bissessar made the statement as she addressed members of the media outside the Hyatt Regency hotel, on Wrightson Road in Port of Spain yesterday.
“I am going to Venezuela on the invitation of the President of Venezuela Mr Chavez. There we would be meeting with all the heads of government in Latin America, Caribbean, Central America so it is a very important meeting for our hemisphere, for our block. As you realise I have been promoting south-south trade and south-south cooperation and therefore this is a very important forum for strengthening and keeping our ties with our Latin American, Central American and of course Caribbean brothers and heads of state,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“What I am thinking of doing, however, is to cut short the amount of time that I would have to be out of the country I am exploring that at the moment and therefore I may leave on one morning and come back by the next day rather than go for the four days,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said there are several important issues that need to be discussed at the forum.
“The bilateral meetings are very important, as you know Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela (we) share common borders, we share common oil in the ground and we recently signed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Venezuela and it is very important to us to pursue that further in terms of how we would produce the oil,” Persad-Bissessar said.
“I think it would be offensive for us here as so close neighbours to not go on the invitation of the President of Venezuela,” she said.
