Trinidad Minister visits Venezuela for energy talks

Energy Minister Stuart Young (left) in discussions with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro (right) at Miraflores Palace in Caracas.
Energy Minister Stuart Young (left) in discussions with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro (right) at Miraflores Palace in Caracas.

(Trinidad Guardian) The Venezuelan Government is hoping to revive cooperation with T&T in the areas of energy and the economy. This follows a meeting on Friday by Energy Minister Stuart Young and T&T’s Ambassador to Venezuela Edmund Dillon with President Nicolás Maduro at Miraflores Palace in Caracas.

 

A release from Venezuela’s Ministry of Communication and Information stated that at the working meeting the two sides “consolidated their ties of cooperation, complementarity and solidarity.”

 

“In recent months, in energy matters, both countries have expressed the desire and commitment to reactivate energy cooperation and particularly the Government of T&T has proposed the search for formulas for the normalisation of gas and oil supply worldwide,” the release continued.

 

Young also met Venezuela’s Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami and discussed “strategies for cooperation and business in the matter of hydrocarbons.”

 

The two countries have signed several agreements, including for large-scale projects such as the bilateral Contingency Plan for Hydrocarbon Spills, a memorandum of understanding for the supply of natural gas, and the Framework Agreement for Energy Cooperation.

 

On Friday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Faria posted photos with Young with the caption: “We met with the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries of T&T, with the firm objective of continuing to promote the economic and commercial growth of Venezuela and our allies. Venezuela and T&T have expressed the political intention to reactivate energy cooperation agreements, for the benefit of the comprehensive development of both nations, and in an effort to consolidate binational, strategic relations and mutual understanding.”

 

A release from the Energy Ministry did not give any details of what was discussed but simply said that talks “surrounded matters of energy, security and other matters of national interest to both neighbours.”