President Leonel Fernandez has expressed his appreciation for the long-term credit that Hugo Chavez’s government has granted for the Dominican Republic’s petroleum purchases from Venezuela. The President made these comments while attending the Non-Alligned Movement summit in Cuba. The agreement with the Venezuelan government gives the country a 15-25 term to pay for petroleum purchases at an interest rate of 1%. Fernandez explained that the Venezuelan petroleum sales program helps mitigate the effects that wars have had on fuel prices. “Every time the combat or rhetoric heats up, the prices of the barrel of petroleum hit unreachable levels for our nations: our economies stagnate, the foreign debt increases, the currency devaluates, and expenditures in education and health decline, while investments in infrastructure evaporate,” said Fernandez. He advocated that the NOAL movement play a more prominent and innovative role in defending the interests of nations that are struggling for development.<\/p>\n
President Fernandez continued on to United States, where he has a full agenda (see DR1 Daily News 14 September 2006). Reportedly, he arrived in Chicago on Sunday to begin the second leg of his 7-day trip through the United States. In Chicago, Fernandez will attend several meetings with businessmen, university professors, and politicians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Leonel Fernandez has expressed his appreciation for the long-term credit that Hugo Chavez’s government has granted for the Dominican Republic’s petroleum purchases from Venezuela. The President made these comments while attending the Non-Alligned Movement summit in Cuba. The agreement with the Venezuelan government gives the country a 15-25 term to pay for petroleum purchases … <\/p>\n