In the midst of the context of the war in Ukraine and in the face of a lack of energy worldwide, Argentina began to negotiate with the Nicolás Maduro regime a program contemplated under the idea of an “exchange plan” with Venezuela. The objective is to receive diesel, fuel oil and urea fertilizer in exchange for food, seeds or agricultural machinery.
The negotiations to deploy this ambitious plan began to be closed by the Argentine ambassador in Venezuela, Oscar Laborde, who has the approval of President Alberto Fernández and also officials from the team of the Super Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa. The new Argentine envoy to Caracas has already discussed the issue with Maduro and now they will discuss the technical details.
The exchange plan that began to take shape in concrete terms was also discussed 10 days ago between Maduro and Ambassador Laborde at the meeting they both held at the Miraflores Palace, where the Kirchnerist leader handed over the credentials to the president of Venezuela.
As diplomatic sources confirmed to El Cronista, the exchange plan with Venezuela would be channeled under the umbrella of a state-to-state agreement in which private parties will intervene.
The Maduro government will offer to ship diesel, fuel oil and urea ships in the coming months. In exchange, Argentina must agree with food, grain and agricultural machinery companies to exchange with them the fuel that Caracas sends.
In this way, Ambassador Laborde works on the idea that the States become facilitators of this commercial exchange that the Argentine side will consider private. This occurs in the midst of a context where, as a result of the war unleashed between Russia and Ukraine, there is a global lack of energy.
In the case of Argentina, the problems of lack of diesel are generating severe disturbances in the transport of the harvest from the field and in the industry in general. On the other hand, in Venezuela there are currently no gas oil and fuel oil supply problems. Nor of urea that in the Argentine field is needed as fertilizer.
However, in Venezuela they are currently in need of food, grains and seeds because trade with Russia, which is their natural supplier, has been extremely reduced as a result of the war and the economic blockade imposed on Moscow by a large part of the developed countries. In the case of the seeds and agricultural machinery that Argentina would send to Venezuela, it will be used by Maduro to deploy the soil recovery plan for plantation that is being carried out.
