PM Golding for 5th Petrocaribe Summit in Venezuela- July 13

Prime Minister Bruce Golding leaves the island on Saturday. July 12, for Maracaibo, Venezuela, to attend the Fifth extraordinary PETROCARIBE summit of Heads of State and Government.
The summit, which is scheduled for Sunday July 13, will discuss and evaluate commitments and agreements signed at the fourth Petrocaribe summit held in Cuba in December 2007. The meeting will also discuss new policies and strategies to be implemented by the Organization in the region.
The opening session will be addressed by Venezuela’s President, Hugo Chavez and will hear a number of presentations by Heads of State. Sunday’s summit will also see the signing of the declaration of Heads of State and Government of the fifth PETROCARIBE Extraordinary Summit.
Prime Minister Golding is leading Jamaica’s delegation which includes Energy Minister, Clive Mullings, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and the Development Bank of Jamaica. Mr. Golding returns to the island on Monday, July 14.
During his absence, Minister of Finance Audley Shaw, will be in charge of the Government.
Petrocaribe emerged out of the first meeting on energy of Caribbean Heads of States and Government held in Puerto Cruz, Venezuela in June 2005, as part of an initiative of the Venezuelan government.
Subsequent Petrocaribe summits were held in Jamaica in September 2005, Venezuela and Cuba in 2007. The Petrocaribe Energy Cooperation Accord, the Political Declaration of the Heads of State and Government, and the Energy Security Treaty, are the main results of these previous gatherings.
Petrocaribe is a cooperation mechanism on energy between developing nations based on a principle of solidarity and differential treatment towards the lesser developed nations and those without energy resources, while contributing to offset the effects of the rising price of oil.
The 16 members of Petrocaribe are Venezuela, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Dominican Republic, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Haiti and Nicaragua.