Venezuela to woo CARICOM
By
Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
Jamaica
Gleaner
BASSETERRE,
St. Kitts and Nevis
Petroleumworldtt.com
07 09 06
CARICOM
HEADS of government will meet today with a special
envoy from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to discuss
that country's bid for a seat on the United Nations
Security Council.
Roy
Chaderton, a former Foreign Minister of Venezuela,
flew into St. Kitts to attend the 27th Conference
of CARICOM Heads of Government held at the Eastern
Caribbean Central Bank. CARICOM leaders normally
vote en bloc on foreign policy issues.
Speaking
to The Gleaner, Mr. Chaderton remained tight-lipped
over the issue which has added to an ongoing war
of words with the United States as Venezuela seeks
to expand its influence in the region.
AGAINST
SUPPORTING VENEZUELA
Jamaica's
Opposition Leader, Bruce Golding, has come out strongly
against supporting Venezuela, a decision he says
could jeopardise relations with the U.S., which
has been applying pressure on regional governments
to support its choice, Guatemala.
However,
in a speech last week, President Chavez insisted
Venezuela would persevere.
"The
United States walks the world day and night ...
trying to terrorise others so that Venezuela won't
get selected in October," Mr. Chavez told a
graduation of military officers in Caracas. "We
accept the challenge from the empire."
The
two-year rotating seat, which is reserved for Latin
America and the Caribbean, will become vacant in
October.
The
meeting between Mr. Chaderton and CARICOM heads
will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Nevis
where they will be taking a one-day retreat to reach
decisions on their discussions this week. They will
also hear a presentation from Minister of National
Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, on funding for security
preparations for Cricket World Cup 2007, as well
as a presentation by René Preval, President
of newly-readmitted Haiti.
Jamaica Gleaner/ Wednesday | July 5, 2006
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