Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit the Dominican Republic this weekend to sign an energy agreement with Dominican chief executive Leonel Fernandez. The arrangement will guarantee a steady supply of oil for the cash-crunched DR. El Caribe newpaper says that Chavez will arrive at 6am on Saturday for an official visit of eight hours. After arriving at the San Isidro Air Base, the Venezuelan leader will go to the National Palace for breakfast with President Fernandez, after which the two will issue a joint communique to demonstrate their willingness to cooperate and bolster the relations between their two countries. The new Caracas Accord, scheduled to be signed at 9am Saturday, was originally drafted and signed in 2000 by ex-President Hipolito Mejia and Chavez. The Plaza Simon Bolivar is also to be inaugurated by Chavez during his stay. President Chavez, the first foreign head of state to visit the DR during this Fernandez administration, is making the visit of his own accord in order to show his respect for the Dominican people and to inaugurate Santo Domingo’s Simon Bolivar Plaza. Tensions between the two nations had mounted during the Mejia governmnent when Chavez denounced the DR for allegedly harboring Venezuelan conspirators who were trying to overthrow his government. Diario Libre’s front page this morning says that this visit and the current trip to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the Group of Rio Summit are strategies for President Fernandez to assume a role of diplomatic leadership and push for Dominican competitiveness in the hemisphere.