External friend: Moscow and Caracas agree on dates for Maduro's visit
The date of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's new visit to Russia is being worked out through diplomatic channels, the Russian Embassy in Caracas told Izvestia. Earlier he received an invitation from Vladimir Putin to visit our country, at a personal meeting it was handed over by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko. Russia may become the first country to which the Venezuelan president will make a state visit after his inauguration in January 2025. How trade relations between our countries are developing and whether there are prospects in the field of tourism - in the exclusive material of "Izvestia".
Nicolas Maduro is expected to visit Russia
The leader of Venezuela may come to Russia again, this issue is being worked out, "Izvestia" was informed in our embassy in Caracas.
- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has an invitation to visit Russia. The terms of such a visit are being agreed upon through diplomatic channels," they said.
On November 8, it became known that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko handed the Venezuelan leader an invitation from Vladimir Putin to visit our country in 2025.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro during a meeting at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas. November 7, 2024.
"We will be pleased with your visit to Russia in 2025, within the framework of which we will sign the Treaty on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation. As you accurately noted, Russia and Venezuela have formed ties that cannot be broken. Our countries are linked by strong friendship, strategic partnership and political support that is not subject to conjuncture," said Deputy Prime Minister.
Dmitry Chernyshenko met with Nicolas Maduro during his working visit to Caracas. The Deputy Prime Minister also took part in a meeting of the Russian-Venezuelan high-level intergovernmental commission.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the official meeting of the heads of delegations participating in the 16th BRICS summit. October 23, 2024
The Venezuelan leader visited Russia in October this year - he took part in the BRICS summit. It was in Kazan that his meeting with Vladimir Putin took place.
The Russian Federation may also become the first country that Nicolas Maduro will visit after his inauguration, believes the director of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Center Egor Lidovskoy. "Especially since next year we will celebrate 80 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our states (they were established in March 1945. - Ed.)," the expert explained.
Maduro's inauguration is scheduled for early January 2025. According to the Russian embassy, the Russian Federation has not yet received an invitation.
Cooperation between Russia and Venezuela
Moscow and Caracas already have an agreement on cooperation in the implementation of joint strategic projects. It came into force in 2009. Venezuela is in fact Russia's key partner in the Latin American region. Caracas supported and welcomed the re-election of Vladimir Putin, as well as Russia's actions in Ukraine.
Moreover, Venezuela recently condemned the U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. According to Nicolas Maduro, the United States has entered a "phase of madness and revenge."
- Russia assumes that cooperation with Venezuela is beneficial for our country, and this is certainly true. Nicolas Maduro, for his part, has a very honest and friendly policy towards Russia and has never changed his course - even in the most difficult circumstances. Therefore, I believe that this is a very promising cooperation, which serves as a prototype of a new model of relations in a multipolar world, - emphasized Egor Lidovskoy.
Russia cooperates with Venezuela in oil production, development of gas fields, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals. Russia is one of the main suppliers of insulin to the Latin American country. In November this year, Moscow and Caracas signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of geology and subsoil use of solid minerals for 2024-2026.
In addition, the countries are ready to develop partnership in the military-technical sphere. In particular, Moscow is interested in fully meeting the needs of the Venezuelan Armed Forces in Russian-made weapons to ensure the country's security. Recall that in August 2024, the training ship of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy "Smolny" called at the Venezuelan port of La Guaira as part of the practice for more than 300 cadets of naval educational institutions of the Russian Defense Ministry.
Smolny, a training ship of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy, during a call at the port of La Guaira. August 6, 2024
No less important in the context of financial sanctions against Russia seems to be Venezuela's readiness to use national currencies in trade transactions with Russia, as well as the launch of the possibility of payment with cards of the Russian system "Mir" in Venezuela.
In the first eight months of this year, trade turnover between the countries increased by 70% compared to the same period in 2023. In 2024, Russia began to supply the Latin American state with high-tech goods (machine tools and equipment), as well as mineral products. In addition, the share of sales of agricultural products from Russia to Venezuela increased. According to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, in the third quarter of this year the republic became the third importer of Russian wheat in the region.
Bilateral trade will also get a boost in the near future thanks to a 25% reduction in customs duties for imports of Venezuelan goods to Russia. A protocol on cooperation within the EAEU tariff preferences system was signed during Dmitry Chernyshenko's visit to Caracas.
Tourism may become a promising area of cooperation between the countries. The Venezuelan island of Margarita is located 40 km from the mainland of the Republic and washed by the Caribbean Sea - it is a popular destination for beach vacations. The possibility of opening direct air service between Russian cities and the islands is now being discussed at various levels. Nevertheless, the problem for the development of tourism remains the difficult criminal situation in the country. In 2024 the murder index in Venezuela amounted to 3.49 per 100 thousand people, it is characteristic to a greater extent for the capital than for resort cities. In addition, the country serves as a transshipment point for the transportation of drugs from other Latin American countries to the United States.
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