(KPL/Prensa Latina) India and Venezuela have today a vast potential to continue the progress of their economic, cultural, scientific, political and people-to-people ties, relations which will benefit the Global South.

This was underlined by Capaya Rodriguez, Venezuelan Ambassador to India on the eve of her country’s National Day in the presence of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Pabitra Margherita.

Before representatives of the diplomatic corps of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, Rodriguez took the opportunity to reiterate good wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the management of his third term and good health.

He said that the commemoration in New Delhi of the 213th anniversary of the signing of the Venezuelan Charter of Independence was an opportunity to celebrate the 65th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

She recalled that following the ideas of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, Hugo Chávez set Venezuela on the path of social justice and democracy.

Rodriguez pointed out that two centuries after the historic date of July 5, 1811, the South American country continues to defend the path of its democracy and development in the face of destabilizing attempts, media campaigns and unilateral economic measures imposed by the United States and its Western allies.

He pointed out that his government and people have demonstrated the ability to overcome those obstacles and the damage caused by the economic and financial war between 2015 and 2022, which generated, in terms of fall of the Gross Domestic Product, total losses of around 642 billion dollars.

The heroic people grew in the face of adversity and, thanks to a strong sense of national unity, Venezuela went from being a net food importer to a country self-sufficient in more than 97 percent of the products it consumes, with domestic agricultural production increasing by 5.5 percent, she said.

The ambassador reiterated the commitment of Venezuela, its people and the Bolivarian Government of President Nicolas Maduro to continue working constructively with India, to bring new perspectives and identify new ways to establish genuine bilateral cooperation.

The above, she stressed, in terms of the new pluricentric and multipolar order within the framework of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and any other joint initiative that contributes to the consolidation of a strong, supportive and fair international system, based on common and transparent rules, in which all voices are heard and taken into account, and especially that responds to the interests of the Global South.

In addition, the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs reaffirmed his country’s commitment to expand and diversify bilateral ties.

KPL