In order to undertake paths to restore diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Paraguay, the Venezuelan delegation of the Parliament of the Common Market of the South (Parlasur-Venezuela) held a meeting on Tuesday with the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Senators of Paraguay, in the city of La Asunción, refers a press release.
The head of the Parlasur-Venezuela delegation, deputy Saúl Ortega, informed from that nation that they met with the president of the Paraguayan Senate, Óscar Salomón, to raise the interest of continuing to advance on the path of integration, having as a fundamental premise the incorporation of the Venezuelan bench to Parlasur, “that would allow, institutionally, a very direct relationship on many issues that are of interest, especially in Paraguay,” he pointed out.
He stressed that immediately the delegation he represents echoes the proposals of the Paraguayan senators so that the Venezuelan Executive considers it and from there move forward in order to seek alternatives to achieve the integration and complementarity of both economies, “and we can present good news to the Venezuelan and Paraguayan people,” said Ortega.
He commented that in these times of crisis that humanity is experiencing, affected by the pandemic, and now by the war in Ukraine, a drop in the production of food, goods, services and fuel is estimated. For this reason, it considers alliances necessary, taking into account the boost that it could offer to the planet’s economies, both in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as some countries in the southern region, including Paraguay, noted for being the breadbaskets of the world and for having a privileged location. .
He recalled that these countries are, par excellence, food producers, which have been of vital importance and the epicenter of the crisis, highlighting the case of Venezuela, a country he considered privileged for having significant energy reserves. In this regard, he explained that precisely they will be working on the complementation of the economies so that the effect of the crisis affects this region in a lesser way, indicated the Venezuelan parliamentarian.
In relation to the fuel purchase and sale operation, deputy Ortega pointed out that they are working on parliamentary diplomacy to reestablish relations, and that once they are reestablished, the status of Paraguay’s fuel debt with PDVSA will be reviewed.
For his part, the deputy of the Venezuelan opposition, José Gregorio Correa, pointed out that Parlasur-Venezuela is a plural delegation that represents the citizen and not the government, “what we are looking for is that a relationship between Paraguay and Venezuela be resumed, that should never have been broken due to political differences,” he said.
Correa considered it unfair that the cost of fuel is affected by political disagreements between the leaders of both nations. He proposed to support diplomatic efforts in order to restore relations, “because Paraguay does not have to pay for expensive gasoline, hence the intention of this effort to incorporate Venezuela into Mercosur in the future,” he said.
He added that the only parliament that exists in Venezuela is the one elected in 2020 and that Paraguay has the right, as an American nation, to access Venezuelan gasoline once diplomatic relations are reestablished.
