BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

25/07/2006

Chavez: Belarus to Help in Oil Exploration

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Belarus will help Venezuela to explore for and refine oil as part of a technology transfer agreement between the two new allies, the Venezuelan government said Tuesday.

President Hugo Chavez visited the isolated ex-Soviet Republic this week and struck a deal with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko to form a joint venture to explore for and extract oil, according to a Venezuelan government statement.

Chavez also proposed that Venezuela could supply Belarus with crude to refine and sell in exchange for houses and technology for the South American country.

"The new politics of international solidarity will allow Venezuela to more quickly attend to its housing shortage and will contribute to overcoming scientific and technological backwardness," Chavez was quoted as saying.

It was not clear what kind of technology Belarus would supply to Venezuela, although Chavez said he hoped it could export oil equipment, such as valves, pipes and drills.

"We are importing equipment and oil services worth US$10 billion (euro7.9 billion) a year and a good part of this money goes to the United States. We're sure that Belarus can supply a good part of this equipment," the Venezuelan leader said.

Chavez, who has courted foes and critics of Washington in what he calls an effort to create a global counterbalance to U.S. domination, cemented an alliance this week with Lukashenko -- a man known in Europe and Washington as "Europe's last dictator."

Belarus was Chavez's first stop of an international tour that is also taking him Russia, Iran, Vietnam, Qatar and Mali.

Source:

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20060725&ID=5893403

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