Minister of Finance, Economic Planning, and Information Technology Camillo Gonsalves has confirmed that St. Vincent and the Grenadines currently owes no money under the PetroCaribe agreement with Venezuela.
Speaking in Parliament in response to a question about the status of the programme, Gonsalves stated that the country is not indebted to Venezuela under the energy cooperation framework.
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Minister Gonsalves said the PetroCaribe energy-sharing agreement has been severely weakened by U.S. sanctions on Venezuela, making it increasingly difficult for financial transactions and shipping operations to flow through the programme.
He described PetroCaribe as “a shadow of what it was,” blaming what he called draconian U.S. policy regimes for undermining the initiative and negatively impacting the developmental prospects of countries like St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
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