Venezuela to export oil to Belarus

Caracas, March 17 : Venezuela plans to export oil to Belarus beginning in May, President Hugo Chavez said in a meeting here with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko.

Chavez and Lukashenko, who is visiting Venezuela for the second time, met Monday to review a series of bilateral accords that had been previously signed but not yet implemented due to various stumbling blocks.

At the end of the meeting, both presidents gave a brief statement to the press in which they called for recovering lost time and achieving unprecedented levels of economic complementarity.

Chavez announced the plans to supply oil to Minsk, saying the crude will be refined at Belarusian plants and that oil-derived products will be sold in Europe.

Lukashenko announced the creation of a commercial group based in Venezuela aimed at creating awareness in Latin American about Belarusian technology and products.

The two leaders, who are both harshly critical of the US, said Lukashenko's visit was crucial not only for consolidating their relations in the political, economic and social realm, but also in the ideological sphere.

"Our ideas are based on socialism, on independence and on sovereignty, which are essential factors in the multi-polar world that we are striving for," Chavez said.

Speaking of concrete projects that are to be re-launched or initiated, Chavez and Lukashenko referred to factories to build tractors and cargo trucks.

They also discussed accords related to home building, construction materials, the installation of domestic gas networks in several cities and the development of several deposits of phosphorite and other minerals.

"They are very serious plans aimed at allowing Venezuelans to enjoy some of the advantages the Belarussian people have. We're prepared to transfer everything we have so this becomes a reality," Lukashenko said.

The two presidents traveled Tuesday to the state of Aragua to inaugurate construction of a 5,000-unit housing project to be built by Belarus in that area, roughly 120 km west of Caracas.