South Africa: Venezuela’s Chavez in Country Bearing Oil Gift

Venezuelan strongman President Hugo Chavez, whose Latin American populism and anti-US rhetoric have made him the darling of the international left, was due in SA last night for a two-day visit that will include the signing of a major energy co-operation agreement.

In an apparent bid to lessen SA’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil, the government will sign an agreement to make the government of Venezuela a supplier of the crucial commodity to SA.
Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world and is the world’s fifth-largest exporter. SA is the region’s largest oil consumer – more than 68% of the Southern African Development Community’s region’s total – and the second-largest oil consumer in Africa after Egypt.

President Thabo Mbeki will sign the a memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation and an agreement on co-operation with the Chavez.

AllAfrica