Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says Venezuela has agreed to cancel St Vincent and the Grenadines’ debt under PetroCaribe, its oil initiative with Latin American and Caribbean countries.
He said as a result, this could result in the national debt declining by nine per cent.
“I outlined in Caracas not only the impact of COVID but also the terrible socio-economic impact of the volcanic eruptions last year followed by Hurricane Elsa, that President Maduro agreed to give 100 per cent debt relief of our PetroCaribe debt.”
He said Kingstown and Caracas are tallying the precise size of the debt and that “it may be up to US$70 million, meaning EC$189 million”.
Gonsalves, who returned home on Tuesday evening after spending four days in a hospital in Venezuela, Caracas will half the debt of the other member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean (OECS) that are members of PetroCaribe.
Gonsalves said there would also be “a revival of PetroCaribe, which has been brought to a screeching halt effectively by certain sanctions.
