Venezuela Confident Of Overcoming Economic Crisis

By R. Ravichandran KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) – Venezuela is confident of overcoming the current economic crisis via a recently-announced recovery plan, despite ongoing attempts by some countries to sabotage its economy and the country, said its Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asia, the Middle East and Oceania, Ruben Dario Molina. He said President Nicolas Maduro had recently announced various measures and reforms to tackle the crisis and hyperinflation, but stressed that it would take some time to see the results as some of these measures had been put in place just less than a month ago. He added there were countries including some in Latin America trying to create an impression that Venezuela was facing a humanitarian crisis due to exodus of Venezuelan migrants to neighbouring countries, to justify foreign intervention and interference into Venezuela’s domestic affairs. “We are under (an) economic war...our currency being attacked...also our economy, financial and commercial sectors,” Molina told Bernama after a visit to the NAM News Network (NNN) at the Malaysian National News Agency’s Headquarters here Thursday. Molina, accompanied by Venezuela’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Manuel Guzman, was briefed by Bernama’s Deputy Editor in-Chief (International News Service) Ahmad Zukiman Mohd Zain. Also present was Executive Editor (International News Service) Ahmad Fuad Yahya. During his 90-minute visit to Bernama, Molina also toured the Bernama News Channel (BNC), Bernama Radio and Bernama’s Editorial Department. He arrived here Wednesday as part of his visit to three ASEAN countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to strengthen Caracas’ ties with this region. Molina pointed out that foreign power attempts to interfere in Venezuela’s domestic affairs were aimed at controlling the country’s natural resources including its oil and gas, minerals and even water. He said that due to economic sabotage through unilateral measures, Venezuela faced food and medicine shortages and difficulties in importing raw materials for production and industries. Venezuela is also under various sanctions imposed by the United States (US) and the European Union, including on companies and officials of the country which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. The US has also banned the purchase of cryptocurrency issued by the Venezuelan Government.The US also banned Americans from buying Venezuelan debt for cash. Maduro recently announced a series of fiscal, financial and economic social policies to tackle the economic crisis and increase the purchasing power of the people, including increasing the minimum wage, higher corporate taxes, pegging the Venezuelan Bolivar currency to a digital currency ‘petro’, which is backed by oil reserves and the currency re-denomination. Besides that, other reforms put in place were instruction for banks to adopt the ‘petro’ as a unit account and remittances being sent home had to go through authorised currency traders to collect taxes on these transactions as well as the increase in the standard rate of the value added tax (VAT) from 12 per cent to 16 per cent to increase tax collection. Also, the introduction of a new mechanism for fuel subsidies and raising the price of gasoline, among others, to curb smuggling. Venezuelans enjoy the cheapest fuel in the world. Molina said the Venezuelan Government was also putting in place various incentives and creating conducive environment to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in its efforts to diversify the oil-dependent economy. This includes simplifying regulations on FDI and allowing repatriation of profits. Molina pointed out that Venezuela welcomed investment in the oil and gas sector, mining, agriculture and investment in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises development. “We have no problem working with big corporations...but they must follow the development model of Venezuela,” he said. Molina said Venezuela, an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member hoped to increase oil production from the current one million barrels to between two and 2.5 million barrels by year-end or next year. On the issue of Venezuelans leaving and migrating to neighbouring countries due to the economic crisis, he explained that the numbers provided by various international bodies were inaccurate and at times, exaggerated. The United Nations estimated some 1.6 million Venezuelans left the Latin American country since 2015. “On the contrary. In the past, Venezuela received many migrants from other countries who were attracted to work in Venezuela due to its economic growth and prosperity,” he said. According to Molina, some countries were trying to paint Venezuela as a failed state and instigating the people to leave, to provoke a humanitarian crisis to justify foreign intervention. On the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), where Venezuela is the current chair, Molina said the 125-member organisation founded in 1961 was still very much relevant, but former colonial powers were not interested to see its progress. This is because NAM, with large members of developing countries was always together in championing the South-South cooperation and the interests of developing and less developed countries. Edited by Gerald Raja -- BERNAMA