BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)—Barbados and Venezuela on Monday moved towards further strengthening their bilateral relations, agreeing on a number of initiatives ranging from trade, the economy, culture, and developing their energy sectors.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley held talks with visiting Venezuelan acting president, Delcy Rodriquez, who arrived here on Sunday evening, and both leaders said they were pleased with the outcome of their deliberations.

“April 27th marks the birth of the cooperation in economy and trade between Venezuela and Barbados,” Rodriquez said in a statement to reporters, adding that the discussions between the two delegations also touched on several issues, including inviting Barbados “to come and invest in oil fields, also in gas exploration in Venezuela”.

Rodriquez said that there was a role for Barbados in joining Caracas, “to increase the production of hydrocarbons in Venezuela and that we can also guarantee the supply and the safety for energy to the people of Barbados in the future.

“We have also discussed the complementarity for renewable energies that we may together manufacture solar panels so we can have a complete energetic sector. There are many spaces for investment and we want to review our agreements on investment and double taxation,” the acting Venezuelan head of state said.

In her statement, Mottley said the price of energy concerns everyone across the world, adding “we have for some time been speaking about the possibility of deepening bilateral cooperation between Venezuela and Barbados.

“In our own instance, we have the Barbados National Energy Company, which while small is in a position to work with others to be able to better invest jointly in the fields that are being offered for us to be able to see how best we can expand our capacity and become more resilient and to ensure that we maintain affordable access to energy products.”

Mottley said that whenever there has been an international oil crisis, countries of the Caribbean only survive it if there is assistance from outside.

“In the 1970s, when we had the international oil crisis, we had the San Jose Agreement which helped all of us in the region and we thank Mexico and Venezuela for that. In the 1990s, President (Hugo) Chávez would have assisted with Petro Caribe, which would have helped a number of countries in the region as well.”

Mottley said in recent times, discussions have been held with Venezuela to assist other Caribbean countries with discounted product where possible.

“So that over the course of the last five decades, Venezuela has been a very close friend to the region as it relates to energy security and energy efficiency, affordable access, I should say, to energy product.

“Barbados’ needs for us are huge, but for other countries, it will be modest. And that is why we welcome the opportunity for this cooperation to see how best we can invest to the benefit of both countries at this very, very difficult time of energy insecurity.”

She told reporters that Bridgetown wanted the cooperation in energy to extend beyond fossil fuels to also include renewable energy.

“And that is where we believe, whether it is in the issue of solar water heaters or the more advanced stages of PV panels, photovoltaic panels, or ultimately wind energy, we believe that our opportunities for cooperation on renewable energy are tremendous.”

“ So I want to thank you, Madam President, for ensuring that we can today, on the 27th of April, make another major step in securing the bilateral relationship between our two countries,” said Mottley, who has been invited to visit Caracas.

She said that while the trip to Bridgetown from the South American country lasted one hour, “there are many of us who spend more than one hour on the road in our respective countries travelling, and therefore, this is to show you how close we are to each other.

“We must not let history or language prevent us from being able to find the best possible cooperation for our two countries and our two peoples, and we look forward, therefore, to building on the work of all of our predecessors that have allowed our two countries to have a strong relationship.

“…we enjoy strong diplomatic relations that we would want to be able to make sure is not just for the benefit of those who are at the level of government, but we want it now to benefit ordinary people that they can get the best that both countries have to offer,” Mottley said.

The Venezuelan leader said that during their discussions, Prime Minister Mottley expressed her intention of having Barbadians acquire a second official language, and that would be Spanish.

“We already have the Institute for Cultural Cooperation here in Barbados which has been training and providing Spanish classes to people in Barbados. We have decided to amplify the capacities of our institute to include technology which will allow for teachers of Venezuela to come closer and provide more training for the people of Barbados.”

Rodriquez said that this initiative would also allow for people to come and to learn from the people of Barbados, adding, “so this means we are actually leaving after this visit very, very happy”.

The two countries are also looking at ensuring food security with Mottley saying that Barbados is very much committed to establishing a vibrant agro-processing industry so that it would be able to expand exports significantly, both for the benefit of Barbados and Venezuela.

“We are committed to ensuring that the planes and ships that come here do not go back with their holes empty, but in fact can go back with produce that can benefit our farmers and our manufacturers.

“We are also committed to working with other partners to be able to take advantage of the opportunity which you have afforded us to have actual production on Venezuelan soil for the benefit of the Barbadian people and for the benefit of Barbadian farmers.”

Mottley said that agreement had been reached in the matter of agriculture and food security, to partner in research and the scientific aspects of agriculture, “so that we can improve our yields, recognising that there are challenges that our countries will continue to face, particularly with respect to the yield from our soils, which is declining globally. We are committed to working on the scientific side in terms of increasing harvest, what can be taken advantage of as far as farmers and the benefits for the countries in the region.”