Venezuela has offered St Vincent and the Grenadines debt relief and concessions in excess of 8 percent of the country’s debt.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves upon his return from Venezuela.
The Prime Minister arrived on Conviasa’s first weekly flight between Caracas and St Vincent.
“Venezuela has given us 100 percent relief on the remaining debt to PetroCaribe, which amounts to approximately EC189 million dollars. Petrocaribe will be restarted with a discount of 35 percent on the price of fuel in participating countries”.
Currently, 18 countries of the Caribbean are part of Petrocaribe. The alliance was established in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on 29 June 2005, with Venezuela providing oil supplies based on a concessionary financial agreement.
In addition, Gonsalves said on Tuesday there would be weekly shipments of urea to be used in agricultural fertilisers and free asphalt to repair roads.
Oriente Petrochemical Fertilizer Plant of Venezuela, SA (Pequiven) is located in the state of Anzoátegui and produces 93 percent of all fertilizers for the national market and for export.
Over 100 prefabricated houses will also be donated by Venezuela. According to Gonsalves, these will be donated to those who lost their homes during natural disasters in 2021.
