Raul Castro started his first international trip since permanently becoming president by visiting Venezuela."It is an honor to have you with us,” declared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as he welcomed Castro at Caracas’ Simon Bolivar International Airport on Saturday morning. Both leaders would later lay a wreath at a statue of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar at Caracas' Plaza Bolivar.
Castro and Chavez are expected to discuss strengthening political and economic ties between both countries before Castro moves on to attend a Latin American summit in Brazil.
Energy, especially oil, will be a prime subject during Castro’s stops in Venezuela and Brazil. As Simon Romero noted in the New York Times:
Cuba’s potential in developing alternative forms of energy also figures high on Brazil’s efforts to cultivate warmer ties with Cuba, with Brazilian sugar and ethanol producers seeking to interest Cuba in Brazilian ethanol technology and investment, possibly as a way to circumvent an American tariff on imports of Brazilian ethanol if Washington’s embargo is altered…Image- BBC News
But while Brazil has emerged as Cuba’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America, its influence in Cuba is still dwarfed by that of Venezuela, whose subsidized oil exports to Cuba were valued at $3.01 billion this year through November, according to a new study by the Center for Hemispheric Policy at the University of Miami.
Sources- Xinhua, CNN, BBC News, New York Times, ABC News (Australia)
No comments:
Post a Comment