PRESS COMMUNIQUE ON THE VISIT OF INDIAN GOODWILL DELEGATION OF PARLIAMENTARIANS TO VENEZUELA
(3-5 June 2005)
5 June 2005 Caracas , Venezuela
A 13-member Parliamentary Goodwill Delegation led by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad is currently on a 10 day tour to Guyana , Venezuela and Chile . The delegation includes senior Members of Parliament from six major political parties namely Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janta Party, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Rashtriya Janta Dal and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The Members belong to both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
On the second leg of three day visit to Venezuela , from 3 June to 5 June, 2005, the delegation had wide-ranging discussions with Venezuelan Ministers and Members of the National Assembly (NA) of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela . The visit was at the invitation of the President of the NA, Mr. Nicolas Maduro, as a follow up of the State visit to India of His Excellency Mr. Hugo Chavez Frias, the President of Venezuela.
This was the first visit of a Goodwill Parliamentary Delegation from India to Venezuela which established the first bilateral Parliamentary contact between the two countries.
The delegation held extensive discussions on 3 June with the Vice President of the National Assembly, Mr. Pedro Carreno, accompanied by several Members of National Assembly (MNA), including Members of the Group of Friends of India of the NA, followed by a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the NA, headed by the President, Mr. Saul Ortega. It was agreed that these bilateral exchanges should be continued and that a Venezuelan Parliamentary delegation should visit India . The Group of Friends of India of the National Assembly hosted a lunch in honour of the visit of the Goodwill Delegation.
The Minister, accompanied by the Members of the Goodwill Delegation of Parliamentarians, called on the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Mr. Ali Rodriguez Araque, on 3 June, and had an extensive meeting at which several issues of bilateral interest were discussed, including the forthcoming inaugural meeting of the bilateral Indo-Venezuela Joint Commission in July, India's participation in exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons resources in Venezuela, transfer of technology, etc.
The Foreign Minister of Venezuela reiterated the assurance of Venezuela 's support for India 's candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
On 4 June the delegation visited the neighbourhood of La Vega and witnessed the programmes of Venezuelan Government in the areas of health, education, subsidized food and housing and other facilities for the benefit of the less privileged members of the Venezuelan society.
The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and other members of the Indian Goodwill Delegation had a high-level dinner meeting with a Group of Venezuelan Ministers namely Mr Jesse Chacon, Minister for Interior & Justice, Mr Rafael Ramirez, Minister for Energy & Petroleum and Mr William Izarra and Ms Delcy Rodriguez, Vice Ministers for Foreign Affairs. Mayor of Caracas , Mr Juan Bacceto and Members of National Assembly were also present. The Venezuelan side outlined the reality of the internal situation in Venezuela and the Indian delegation outlined efforts being made to enhance economic growth and alleviate poverty in India . Both sides reiterated the desire for consolidating the warm and friendly relations and to strengthen the process of bilateral exchanges.
The Minister Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, pointed out the improvement in bilateral trade, which had increased by more than 100% in 2004 over 2003, and expressed optimism over future prospects, particularly the possibilities for undertaking large economic projects in the fields of hydrocarbons, and construction industry, setting up of a Centre for Technology Demonstration for low-cost housing with machinery, transfer of technology for agro-processing, railways projects to be carried out by India etc. The Minister of Interior of Venezuela discussed the issue of terrorism and it was agreed that both Governments would work actively to finalise draft treaties for mutual legal assistance and extradition.
On 4 June, a Reception was hosted by the Indian Association of Venezuela for the delegation at which the Minister praised the efforts of the small Indian community in Venezuela to enrich the relationship between the two countries and build a positive image of India . He assured the gathering that the Government of India was attentive to the concerns and needs of the Indian community abroad.
