Venezuela
Statement by Dr. Iván Orellana, International Affairs Director of the
Ministry of Popular Power for Energy and Petroleum and Governor for
Venezuela to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the 15th Session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development
Energy for Sustainable Development
New York, 27 February 2007
Mister Chairman,
As it is the first time that the Delegation of Venezuela takes the floor in this
Forum, at the outset, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Al ? Alattiya,
Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, on his designation as
Chairman of this Forum. Likewise, I would like to express that our
Delegation associates itself with the Statement made by the distinguished
representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Mister Chairman,
Access to energy should, in one way or another, give room to States
sovereignty, in relation to the right to preserve their natural and exhaustible
resources, such as petroleum and natural gas. Also, it should allow to set up
production rates as to ensure the national exploitation of these resources, not
only to better preserve them but from the perspective of guaranteeing a fair
and reasonable price as to promote development of clean technologies and
environmentally friendly to fossil energy, and at the same time, promoting
the implementation of new policies to address the rational use of these
resources.
It would be interesting to make clear that what has been perceived as high
energy cost is not only originated as our right to assure reasonable and fair
prices for natural, exhaustible and non ? renewable resources, but also it is
due to external factors on energy markets, namely, unilateral international
policies implemented by some countries in order to access, without any
restriction, energy natural resources in producing countries. In this context,
these prices are related to the costs of technological development and
financing associated to the exploitation of these resources.
We are certain that fair and reasonable energy prices could have, and in fact
it has, a significant impact on energy bills in developing countries, which
lack of such kinds of resources. Thus, in Venezuela, we feel the moral duty
and solidarity to alleviate the weight, not only through our involvement in
initiatives as we have already done with the OPEC Fund, but in a more
aggressive and practical manner by the implementation of Shared Solidarity
polices, Complementarity and support in the reduction of social
asymmetries, especially those aiming at contributing to poverty reduction. In
solidarity with other countries and by means of financial, payment and
collaboration schemes, Venezuela have been implementing, renowned
projects such as: PETROCARIBE, PETROSUR, PETROANDINA,
PETROAMERICA, Caracas Energy Cooperation Agreement, and San José,
among others, as a means to promote regional integration in Latin America
and the Caribbean.
These programs seek and have successfully achieved reduction on the
speculative intermediation on energy price chain and reduction of costs in
transactions by means of direct negotiations among States. This scheme is
coupled with energy coordination policies which generate endogenous and
sustainable development for people, benefiting among others, diversification
of supply sources and primary energy.
Finally, not only we have been successfully implementing those policies in
America but we are now are opening these possibilities to other regions of
the planet, especially Africa, a region to which the world owes a great debt.
Mister Chairman, Venezuela firmly believes that sustainable development
should give an opportunity to complementarity and solidarity, and it is our
aspiration that it would be included in the outcome document. Mister
Chairman, a Sustainable development supported and based only on
competitiveness mechanisms that stimulate individuality, could see the
implementation of a fundamentalist market doctrine condemn to fail, if
elements of compelentarity and solidarity are not incorporated. This is why
we should consider its disastrous consequences for all humanity.
Thank you, Mister Chairman
Ministry of Popular Power for Energy and Petroleum and Governor for
Venezuela to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting for the 15th Session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development
Energy for Sustainable Development
New York, 27 February 2007
Mister Chairman,
As it is the first time that the Delegation of Venezuela takes the floor in this
Forum, at the outset, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Al ? Alattiya,
Minister of Energy and Industry of the State of Qatar, on his designation as
Chairman of this Forum. Likewise, I would like to express that our
Delegation associates itself with the Statement made by the distinguished
representative of Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Mister Chairman,
Access to energy should, in one way or another, give room to States
sovereignty, in relation to the right to preserve their natural and exhaustible
resources, such as petroleum and natural gas. Also, it should allow to set up
production rates as to ensure the national exploitation of these resources, not
only to better preserve them but from the perspective of guaranteeing a fair
and reasonable price as to promote development of clean technologies and
environmentally friendly to fossil energy, and at the same time, promoting
the implementation of new policies to address the rational use of these
resources.
It would be interesting to make clear that what has been perceived as high
energy cost is not only originated as our right to assure reasonable and fair
prices for natural, exhaustible and non ? renewable resources, but also it is
due to external factors on energy markets, namely, unilateral international
policies implemented by some countries in order to access, without any
restriction, energy natural resources in producing countries. In this context,
these prices are related to the costs of technological development and
financing associated to the exploitation of these resources.
We are certain that fair and reasonable energy prices could have, and in fact
it has, a significant impact on energy bills in developing countries, which
lack of such kinds of resources. Thus, in Venezuela, we feel the moral duty
and solidarity to alleviate the weight, not only through our involvement in
initiatives as we have already done with the OPEC Fund, but in a more
aggressive and practical manner by the implementation of Shared Solidarity
polices, Complementarity and support in the reduction of social
asymmetries, especially those aiming at contributing to poverty reduction. In
solidarity with other countries and by means of financial, payment and
collaboration schemes, Venezuela have been implementing, renowned
projects such as: PETROCARIBE, PETROSUR, PETROANDINA,
PETROAMERICA, Caracas Energy Cooperation Agreement, and San José,
among others, as a means to promote regional integration in Latin America
and the Caribbean.
These programs seek and have successfully achieved reduction on the
speculative intermediation on energy price chain and reduction of costs in
transactions by means of direct negotiations among States. This scheme is
coupled with energy coordination policies which generate endogenous and
sustainable development for people, benefiting among others, diversification
of supply sources and primary energy.
Finally, not only we have been successfully implementing those policies in
America but we are now are opening these possibilities to other regions of
the planet, especially Africa, a region to which the world owes a great debt.
Mister Chairman, Venezuela firmly believes that sustainable development
should give an opportunity to complementarity and solidarity, and it is our
aspiration that it would be included in the outcome document. Mister
Chairman, a Sustainable development supported and based only on
competitiveness mechanisms that stimulate individuality, could see the
implementation of a fundamentalist market doctrine condemn to fail, if
elements of compelentarity and solidarity are not incorporated. This is why
we should consider its disastrous consequences for all humanity.
Thank you, Mister Chairman
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