By Deisy Buitrago
CARACAS (Reuters) -Venezuela is open to paying its debt to China – which in line with unbiased information quantities to some $10 billion – lawmaker Nicolas Maduro Guerra, son of President Nicolas Maduro, instructed Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Venezuela’s relationship with China is “foolproof and weatherproof,” Maduro Guerra stated, including that Chinese language corporations are eager to put money into the South American nation.
China is a significant participant in Venezuela’s oil and fuel sector, in addition to being the OPEC nation’s largest creditor. In 2007 it reached a $50 billion settlement for credit score strains and loans-for-oil offers with then-leader Hugo Chavez.
A rout in oil costs and declining output from Venezuelan fields led President Maduro’s authorities to barter grace intervals for loans value $19 billion in 2020, and Venezuela presently owes the Asian large some $10 billion, in line with unbiased information.
Maduro Guerra stated that Venezuela has at all times been open to paying its debt to the federal government in Beijing.
“The finance ministers must get collectively sooner or later,” he stated.
The lawmaker didn’t give a determine for the present dimension of the debt.
Maduro Guerra, an economist, is his father’s oldest baby from a earlier marriage and is a detailed confidant of the president, who’s operating for re-election in voting scheduled for July.
The elections are attributable to happen regardless of complaints from opposition politicians that they’ve been handled unfairly, accusations which have prompted the U.S. to reimpose sanctions on Venezuela’s oil trade.
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In publishing its determination final month, Washington gave corporations 45 days to “shut” their companies and transactions with Venezuela’s oil and fuel trade.
In response, Venezuela’s oil trade “should develop and we’re searching for to develop” into new markets, Maduro Guerra stated.
“We trusted promoting oil to america… If it would not need to purchase, we’ll promote it some other place,” he stated, with out giving extra specifics.
Maduro Guerra stated he didn’t know if there had been new conferences between Venezuela’s authorities and america.
Nevertheless, communication channels with Washington remained intact, Maduro Guerra stated.
