ALGIERS – Thursday, 02 February 2023 (APS) – The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad Amar Belani co-chaired in Algiers with Venezuela’s Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations, in charge of Africa, Yuri Alexandre Pimentel Moura, the second session of the Algerian-Venezuelan political consultations, a joint communiqué said on Thursday.
This session, which comes after the official visit paid to Algeria, in June 2022, by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros, was an opportunity for the two officials to examine the state of the bilateral cooperation and ways to promote it in various fields, as well as to exchange views on regional and international issues of common interest, said the source.
At the bilateral level, the two sides, and after welcoming the quality of the friendship, cooperation and solidarity relations between the two countries, “reaffirmed their common willingness to work for their revitalization, notably in the energetic, agricultural, scientific, academic, educational, touristic and cultural fields as well as in air transport, economic exchanges, and exploration of trade opportunities.”
In this respect, the two sides reiterated, in accordance with the instructions of the two countries’ presidents, their willingness to sign the draft aviation agreement which enabled the opening of a direct air link between the two capitals, in order to promote trade between the two countries and underline the importance of promoting the exchange of bilateral commercial and economic visits to establish a working relationship between the Trade Chambers of the two countries, said the source.
In this regard, the two sides agreed notably to hold this year in Caracas, and if possible during the first half, the 4th Intergovernmental Joint Committee.
At the regional and international levels, the two sides welcomed the convergence of their views on a number of issues such as the situation in Mali and Sahel, the Sahrawi issue, the crisis in Libya, the Palestinian cause and the regional and sub-regional integration process.
As regard the situation in Western Sahara, the two sides, after examining the latest developments, “reaffirmed their support to the inalienable right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination, through the organization of a free and fair referendum, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and its doctrine in terms of decolonization,” said the communiqué.