Hands Off Venezuela

Includes ALBA-Caribe Fund (Section II)

The Heads of State and/or Government, gathered at the city of Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, within the framework of the Energetic Encounter for the creation of PETROCARIBE:

- We salute the initiative put forward by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for the creation of PETROCARIBE, whose fundamental objective is to contribute to energetic security, socio-economic development and the integration of Caribbean countries, through the sovereign use of energy resources, and based upon the principles of integration of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA);
- We ratify the commitments accepted during the First Caribbean Meeting of Ministers of Energy, held in Caracas, Venezuela, on 10th July 2004, together with the agreements of the Second Caribbean Meeting of Ministers of Energy, held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 26th and 27th August 2004;
- We fully agree that integration is an indispensable condition for the development of Latin American and Caribbean countries, in view of the formation of regional blocks that are taking prominent positions in the global economy;
- We conclude that only a model of integration that is based upon cooperation, solidarity and the common objective of advancing towards higher levels of development will be able to satisfy the needs and desires of Latin American and Caribbean peoples, whilst preserving their independence, sovereignty and identity;
- We reiterate that PETROCARIBE’s objective is to contribute to the transformation of Latin American and Caribbean societies, turning them into more cultured, participative and fairer societies. To this effect, PETROCARIBE is constituted as an integral process that promotes the elimination of social inequalities, fosters better standards of life and encourages the active participation of peoples in the fabrication of their own destiny;
- We acknowledge the need to adopt measures within the context of PETROCARIBE, which afford preferential and special treatment to Latin American and Caribbean countries with a relatively reduced level of development. Likewise, any necessary measures will be based on the principles of complementarity and cooperation between the nations of the region;
- We guarantee total respect for the principles of equality of the States, together with their sovereignty. We advocate for the principle of non-intervention on internal issues, on the free determination of nations, and on their right to freely choose their political, social and economic systems;
- We express our concern over the trends followed by the global economy; we are particularly concerned over the policies and practices prevailing in industrialised countries, which may cause an even higher rate of marginalization on those Third World countries whose economies depend on the outside;
- Considering the special circumstances of poorer countries who are also highly indebted, we confirm that all terms and conditions applicable to any financial agreement will be established by bilateral negotiations in which the involved countries will participate;
- We acknowledge the importance of Trinidad and Tobago as a reliable source of energy supply, being an energy-exporting country within the CARICOM.
- We understand that the current energy crisis is the result of the unfair global financial order, which in turn has been inherited from colonialism and imperialism, and imposed by wealthy and developed countries. The current situation is characterised by the enormous wastefulness of consumerist societies, speculation and the reduction of productive capacities. This translates into a rise in the price of hydrocarbons, which affects negatively and increasingly the socio-economic development of Caribbean countries. The majority of exports produced by these countries have been severely affected by the prices paid for their products, particularly in the case of agricultural products, such as sugar, bananas and others.

This situation confronts Caribbean countries with the need to obtain reliable sources of energy supply, in a way in that the price of energy does not constitute an obstacle to development. To this effect, the Heads of State and/or Government have decided to subscribe the present

Agreement,

through which we agree to the immediate creation of PETROCARIBE, as the facilitating body that will implement energetic policies and plans aimed to the integration of Caribbean peoples; respecting the sovereign use of natural resources in a way that directly benefits the peoples. In this respect, PETROCARIBE will coordinate and arrange any issues related to the energetic relations between signatory countries, in accordance with the directives established in this Agreement.

PETROCARIBE is born as an organization able to guarantee the coordination and articulation of energy policies, including those relating to oil and its derived products, as well as gas, electricity and its efficient use, technological cooperation, training, infrastructural development, and the use of alternative energy sources, such as wind power, solar energy and others. PETROCARIBE guarantees the achievement of these objectives, while acknowledging the dynamism and complexity of areas pertaining to energy matters.

I - INSTITUTIONAL PLATFORM

To achieve its objectives, PETROCARIBE will have a Ministerial Council, composed by the Ministers of Energy or their equivalents, whose functions will be:

- To coordinate the relevant strategies, policies and plans
- To delegate functions and responsibilities on the bodies constituted to that effect, as and when required
- To agree to and approve issues of prime interest for the organization, as well as any workshops, studies or working groups intended to provide legal and technical support to these issues
- To be fully accountable to the Executive Secretary
- To agree to the incorporation of new members, and to accept any resignation that may occur

The Ministerial Council will nominate a President and a Deputy, who will convene and oversee the meetings. Regular meetings will take place yearly; extraordinary meetings may be convened as many times as it is necessary.

PETROCARIBE will nominate an Executive Secretary, to be exercised by the Ministry of Energy and Oil of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, whose functions will be as follows:

- To prepare the agenda for Ministerial Council meetings
- To directly manage PETROCARIBE’s affairs
- To ensure the enactment of any decisions adopted by the Ministerial Council, to follow up their implementation, and to submit the relevant reports or recommendations
- To prioritise studies and projects defined by the Ministerial Council
- To suggest to the Ministerial Council the allocation of resources in order to carry out  any necessary study

II - ALBA-CARIBE FUND FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In order to contribute to the socio-economic development of Caribbean countries, PETROCARIBE will create a Fund dedicated to the financing of social and economic programs. The contributions made to this Fund may originate from financial and non-financial bodies; they wil stem from financed oil bills and the assets derived from direct trade.

The Fund will be denominated ALBA-CARIBE.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will contribute with an initial capital of fifty million dollars ($50.000.000,00), to the effect of activating the Fund.

III  OPERATIONAL ASPECTS

1-  The company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has created a subsidiary (PDV CARIBE) in order to commence operations.

2- The subsidiary will commence operations having a fully functional transport network that allows it to comply with it supply contracts.

3- Any charter derived from its operations will be charged at face value. This will translate into significant savings for the signatory countries of this Agreement.

4- PDV CARIBE will guarantee a direct relationship, without intermediaries in the supply chain, thus generating further savings to consumer countries in the Caribbean.

5- To this effect, PDV CARIBE will be responsible for organising a logistic network -including ships, terminals and warehouse facilities. Wherever possible, the logistics network will also include refinery facilities and distribution capabilities -for both fuels and other products- prioritising those countries who are in higher need.

6- The subsidiary will implement training plans with the objective of strengthening professional capabilites, promoting a cleaner, more rational and efficient use of both non-renewable and renewable energies.

IV FINANCING AND COMPENSATORY MECHANISMS

1- In addition to the benefits stipulated in the Agreement of San Jose and in Caracas’ Agreement of Energetic Cooperation, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will provide facilities to those Caribbean countries with a lesser degree of relative development. Supply will be based on quotas, to be established bilaterally.

2- Long-term financing structure

The established grace period to complete the financing varies between one and two years.

3- Short-term financing

Short-term financing is restricted to payments made within 30 to 90 days.

4- Deferred payment

Deferred payment arrangements will be made following the guidelines established at the Caracas’ Agreement of Energetic Cooperation: 17 years, including a period of grace of 2 years, as long as barrel prices remain under $40.

If the price exceeds $40 per barrel, the payment due date will increase to 25 years, including a grace period of 2 years, and reducing the interest to 1%. Venezuela may accept deferred payments made in specific assets, which will be determined by the commercial policies of wealthy contries.

V  ENERGETIC EFFICIENCY

An essential aspect of PETROCARIBE’s objective is to incorporate energy-saving programs into the existing supply agreements. In this respect, PETROCARIBE may approve credits or exchange technologies in order to help beneficiary countries develop highly efficient energy-saving programs and systems.

VI  ACTORS

Any energetic operation carried out within PETROCARIBE’s framework will require the existence of state-owned entities. Venezuela offers technical cooperation to support the creation of such entities in those countries where they are inexistent.

Subscribed in the city of Puerto La Cruz, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in two copies of equal content, in Spanish and English, on 29th June 2005, by:

Willmoth Daniel
Vice Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

Leslie Miller
Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Bahamas

Vildo Marin
Minister of Health, Energy and Communications of Belize

Fidel Castro Ruz
President of the Council of State and Government of the Republic of Cuba

Rooselvelt Skerrit
Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica

Leonel Fernandez
President of Dominican Republic

Keith Mitchell
Prime Minister of Grenada

Samuel Hinds
Prime Minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Percival Patterson
Prime Minister of Jamaica

Ralph Gonsalves
Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Petrus Compton
Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation of Saint Lucia

Earl Asim Martin
Minister of Public Affairs and Energy of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Jule Rattankoemar Ajodhia
Vice President of the Republic of Suriname

Hugo Chavez
President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

(Translation for Portal ALBA by Damaris Garzón)

Original document:
http://www.alternativabolivariana.org/pdf/AcuerdoCooperacionPertoCaribe2005.PDF