Cuba, Venezuela sign cooperative deals

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-15-2008 14:47

Cuban President Raul Castro met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday.

The two sides signed a bilateral cooperative agreement worth over two billion US dollars.

Cuba's President Raul Castro, left, stands with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Saturday, Dec 13, 2008.(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Under the agreements, Venezuela promises to provide about 90 thousand barrels of crude oil per day to Cuba. The figure will be enlarged gradually to 150 thousand per day before the year 2013.

The two leaders also discussed ways to jointly fend off the current world economic crisis, in particular the problem of low oil prices.

This is Raul Castro's first official trip abroad as President of Cuba. He took the opportunity to thank Venezuela for its assistance to Cuba over the years.

Raul Castro, Cuban President, said, "We have been able to leave behind the most difficult years of the special period when we were up against the economic crises and the blockade. That is not only due to our unity of spirit and our spirit of resistance but also to the support received from Venezuela."

During the meeting, Venenzuelan President Hugo Chavez also requested that US president-elect Obama extradite CIA-trained Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela to stand trial for blowing up a Cuban plane in 1976, killing all 76 people aboard.

After wrapping up his visit to Venezuela, Castro will head for Brazil to attend a summit of leaders from Latin American and Caribbean countries and regions. The summit is due to open on Tuesday.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei