Chavez Frias administration proposes barter on overseas purchases

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2003 By: VenAmCham

The government proposal suggests the adoption of a system whereby Venezuela will provide oil in exchange for finished products, infrastructure development projects, and other goods acquired from abroad aiming to strengthen Venezuela's trade and to develop its infrastructure.

Energy & Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez says "these are important investment projects in which he foreign companies will do the work and provide their investment capital, and Venezuela will pay with oil."

During his "Alo Presidente" program last Sunday, President Chavez Frias had proposed exchanging oil and petroleum products for the development of Venezuela's infrastructure and claimed that several countries ... among them Brazil and Italy ... were willing to accept oil and other products in exchange for building prisons, schools, and houses in Venezuela.