PETROCARIBE ECONOMIC ZONE GAINED GROUND IN HAITI

Port-au-Prince, September 9- The Economic Zone proposed by Venezuela through the PETROCARIBE agreement, gained ground in Haiti, where ended the 11th Council of Ministers of PETROCARIBE which included 21 countries in the region, during which was discussed the progress made in the development of new regional economic bloc.

"We now have a joint geopolitical space to fight hunger, poverty and exclusion. Thanks to it the region will be freer and our societies more fair," declared President Michel Martelly, who attended Saturday's closing ceremony,adding "The economic zone will defend the interests of our people and the opposition to market liberalism and restore the economic interests of global power”.

The meeting, which began with a tribute to the founder of the organization, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also discussed tourism, transport, trade and agriculture in the region.

The economic zone will not only "a commercial exchange, but the complementarity and coordination of our production," declared Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Rafael Ramirez, who called the block unit to carry out these objectives "It is necessary to establish supply chains that stimulate trade and social development of the region according to the needs of each country”.

Through PETROCARIBE, Haiti received 1,363 million dollars since it joined the program in 2007, including $395 million have been canceled by Venezuela five months after the 2010 earthquake.

In the days before the meeting, Pierre Richard Casimir, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Marie Carmelle Rose Anne Auguste, the Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, in charge of Human Right and the fight against extreme poverty, had highlighted the benefits of the Summit of Ministers for the development of national agricultural sector in the economic area promoted by Venezuela.

Pierre Richard Casimir gave the assurances of Haiti's ability to provide some food in exchange for oil debt and recalled that the Ministry of Agriculture has identified areas for development within the framework of this initiative. Recalled that in July 31, 2013 Haiti oil debt, payable over a period of 25 years was 1 billion 127 million (after cancellation of $395 million of Venezuela after the earthquake of January 2010). Note that Haiti made since May 2013 payments (principal and interest) on oil long-term debt.

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