CHAVEZ
PRESIDENT OF the Republic of Venezuela, HE Hugo Chavez Frias will pay an official one-day working visit to Jamaica tomorrow.
The highpoint of his visit, which will take place in Montego Bay, will be the finalisation of a bilateral agreement, under the PetroCaribe Accord on Energy Co-operation.
According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Chavez and Prime Minister P.J. Patterson are also expected to sign a Joint Communiqué, which will be followed by a press conference.
The PetroCaribe Agreement embraces specific needs of Jamaica and follows the signing of a framework agreement on the 20th June in Venezuela. Other Caribbean countries party to the agreement will individually be signatories to their own bilateral pacts. The agreement will assist the region in meeting its energy needs.
The Venezuelan president, who last visited the island in July 1999, will be accompanied by several of his government ministers. The Venezuelan delegation will include the Vice Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Director of International Relations in the President 's Office, the Ministers of Superior Education, Agriculture and Land, Health and Social Development, Planning and Development, Integration and Foreign Trade as well as the Deputy Minister for Communication and Information and the Vice President of the Oil Refinery.
Shortly after his arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, President Chavez and Mr. Patterson will meet privately.
They will later lead their delegations in formal discussions on a number of bilateral issues covering education, tourism cooperation, disaster management, science and technology and culture. The talks will also explore the possibility for the early convening of the Jamaica/ Venezuela Bi-national Commission, established to deepen cooperation initiatives.
Prime Minister Patterson will also host a luncheon in honour of Mr. Chavez who departs the island later in the evening.
