The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will forgive Dominica the debt of the short and long term bonds granted by Petrocaribe for the reconstruction of that country, because of the damages caused by Hurricane Maria in September, as announced on Tuesday the Chancellor of the Republic, Jorge Arreaza.
“We want to announce today that due to the difficult conditions that the brotherly people of Dominica is going through, after the passage of Hurricane Maria, Venezuela announces the beginning of a process of debt forgiveness in the short and long term by Petrocaribe supplies from its creation until September 2017”, he said in a forum on climate change of the United Nations (UN) and Caricom.
Arreaza said that the debt exceeds 100 million dollars. “This is to allow the Government of the brother prime minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit, to have funds for the reconstruction of his country, as well as the creation of a fiscal space to access new credits”, he said.
The holder of the portfolio of Foreign Relations, indicated that this measure is similar to that executed with the people of Haiti, after being affected by a powerful earthquake in 2010.
He added that the Bolivarian Government is in the evaluation phase with the cases of Antigua and Barbuda, as well as other affected nations to take measures similar to that of Dominica.
“At a time when our country suffers a criminal blockade by the United States, Venezuela is and will be consistent with the principle of solidarity”, he said.
