MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez promises of accessible gas to smaller neighbours

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will be the key speaker Wednesday in Asuncion, Paraguay when introducing a plan to lay a large transcontinental gas pipeline to the benefit of Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay.

The participation of Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay and Chavez "will not be an official visit. Therefore, they will not go to the Congress. It will be only for a working meeting," Paraguayan Foreign Minister Leila Rachid told reporters. The rulers will be in Asunción only for about five hours," she added.

Chavez "will announce his project on regional provision of gas, there will be an exchange of views and nothing else. There will be no signing of treaties because it will be only a technical meeting."

The visiting presidents are scheduled to meet with their host president Nicanor Duarte in Asuncion's Government Palace.

Ms Rachid also revealed that the "meeting will attempt to refloat the old regional organization Urupabol (Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia) which had the purpose of advancing economic development and trade among the three countries through cooperation agreements".

However, it was also admitted by the Paraguayan Foreign Affairs Office that presidents Nestor Kirchner from Argentina and Lula da Silva from Brazil had requested that their ambassadors be allowed to be in the meeting as "observers".

"Argentina and Brazil don't want to be left out of any energy project in the region since every day they need more and more fuel of all kinds to sustain their industrial infrastructure", said a Paraguayan diplomatic source.

But so far there has been no entry or rejection of the Argentine/Brazilian petition since the meeting is at presidential level and "ambassadors have a lower rank", added the Paraguayan source.