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Vietnam president heads for Venezuela
HANOI
Petroleumworld.com, November 18, 2008Vietnam's president left Tuesday for Venezuela, where he was due to push forward oil and gas cooperation in the first visit by a head of state from the communist nation, state media reported.
Nguyen Minh Triet was set to meet President Hugo Chavez during the two-day visit from Wednesday before travelling to Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit at the weekend.
Chavez visited Vietnam in 2006, and his government has since stepped up bilateral relations with the Southeast Asian nation, whose Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh visited Caracas early last year.
During his Vietnam visit, Chavez, an outspoken foe of Washington, praised Vietnam's revolutionary history and attacked the United States for its "imperialist" crimes in the Vietnam war and other conflicts.
The president of the oil-rich South American country has recently said Caracas and Hanoi would set up a joint development fund similar to one Venezuela has with China, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina has reported.
State-run energy companies Petroleos de Venezuela and PetroVietnam have announced a number of joint projects since the Chavez visit. PetroVietnam has a concession in the oil-rich Orinoco basin in eastern Venezuela.
After an officials' meeting last August, Venezuela's Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said both companies had agreed deals to transport Venezuelan oil to Vietnam, where they would also build a joint oil refinery.
Vietnam is rich in offshore oil reserves but so far lacks refining capacity, forcing the country of 86 million to import refined petroleum products.
Vietnam and Venezuela set up diplomatic ties in 1989, but two-way trade reached only 11.7 million dollars last year, the Vietnam News Agency said.
Storyfrom AFP
AFP 18 0827 GMT 11 08Copyright© 2008 respective author or news agency. All rights reserved.
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