BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Barbados has sent delegations to Venezuela to discuss cooperation in the areas of energy, including renewable energy, and on matters relating to food security and food sovereignty, according to a government statement issued here on Tuesday.
It said that the delegations from the Ministry of Energy and Business, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, met with their counterparts in Venezuela over a three-day period last week.
The statement said that the delegations which were led by Energy and Business Minister, Lisa Cummins and Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security Minister, Indar Weir met with the Minister of Petroleum, Pedro Rafael Tellechea, and a team from Petroleos de Venezuela, as well as the Minister of Productive Agriculture and Lands, Wilmar Castro Soteldo.
“During the discussions, they identified areas for possible cooperation with the aim of establishing mutually beneficial agreements,” the statement said.
“Those areas included technical support for papaya varieties to combat bunchy top disease; technical support to combat citrus greening disease; the establishment of a goats project at Greenland for the production of goat’s milk for cheese and yogurt; a labor exchange; and shared knowledge in building capacity for food production through sustainable farming facilities using aquaponics.”
The statement said that the delegations agreed to a visit from Venezuela to share information on areas of collaboration and to agree on a start date, as well as to establish a Venezuela/Barbados Agriculture Steering Committee.
