Rowley: Caricom want to do business with Venezuela

THE Prime Minister confirmed at Monday's briefing at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, that he had discussed the desired deal for TT to buy natural gas from Venezuela's Dragon field at the Caricom leaders' recent meeting with US Vice president Kamala Harris in the Bahamas last week.

"On our own matter, the discussions continue," Dr Rowley said.

"We are heavily engaged with the US at the appropriate level. Those discussions between us and Venezuela and between us and the US, and there's no more I can tell you at the moment except that we remain on the job, we remain hopeful and we have been talking to the people who make the decisions."

Rowley said Caricom heads, seeking access to cheap oil under Venezuela's Petrocaribe programme, had urged the US to ease sanctions against Venezuela.

"Caricom, I think for the first time, issued a very clear statement on Caricom's position on the sanctions against Venezuela, asking the US to lift those sanctions.

Rowley said it was not just a TT position, but a Caricom position."

He said Caricom heads had spoken "very forcefully" about their need to participate in the Petrocaribe once Venezuela is relieved of the sanctions.

"In fact evidence was presented to the meeting as to how Caricom governments are straining to pay the full price for fuel and the benefit that will come to them if they are able to access the discounted fuel from Venezuela which I think the discount is 35 per cent."

He said Petrocaribe could spare Caribbean governments hundreds of millions of dollars in expense.

"So its not just TT wanting access to the Dragon field or any other field for that matter. It is Caricom wanting to do business with Venezuela.

"Caricom had actually made a call to the US to give our economies relief by allowing us to access – as part of our energy security – what is available to come from Venezuela. "How the US will react to that, I don't know.