MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela and World Bank agree to define technical cooperation areas after seven-year pause

According to the official communiqué released after the meeting, both sides “agreed to continue working jointly to define the concrete areas of technical collaboration”

The Venezuelan government and the World Bank agreed on Friday in Caracas to work jointly on identifying concrete areas of technical cooperation, in the first high-level encounter between the two parties since the resumption of relations announced last month, which ended a seven-year pause in institutional contacts. The meeting was led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who received at the Miraflores Palace the World Bank's Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Susana Cordeiro Guerra.

According to the official communiqué released after the meeting, both sides “agreed to continue working jointly to define the concrete areas of technical collaboration, for the benefit of the economic and social development of the Venezuelan people.” This first meeting addressed possible areas of technical assistance and exchanged views on recent economic developments in the country, although the communiqué did not specify timelines or operational mechanisms. Accompanying Cordeiro Guerra were Shireen Mahdi, Economic Policy Manager for the region, and Óscar Calvo González, Director of Strategy and Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Venezuelan side included Sectoral Vice President for the Economy Calixto Ortega; Economy and Finance Minister Anabel Pereira; and the Vice President of Finance of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Christiam Hernández. The composition of the delegation, with the simultaneous presence of economic authorities and the state oil company, reflects the weight of the energy issue and of the external debt in the agenda of the international financial reintegration process.

The rapprochement follows a rapid sequence of institutional gestures toward Caracas. The World Bank Group announced in April the resumption of its relations with the Venezuelan government, following the results of the voting process at the International Monetary Fund. That same month, the Washington-based institution also formalized the resumption of its ties with Venezuela, a decision adopted in line with the views of members representing the majority of the voting power. Both relationships had been suspended in March 2019, during the political crisis stemming from Nicolás Maduro's second term, considered illegitimate by the opposition and by dozens of governments that recognized the then head of Parliament, Juan Guaidó, as interim president.

The visit takes place just two days after the Venezuelan executive announced the launch of a “formal, integral, and orderly” process to restructure the country's public external debt and that of PDVSA, without specifying the amount. According to a report released in March by Transparencia Venezuela, the external debt exceeds USD 170 billion. The official communiqué on the restructuring stated as its objective “to rebuild the country's capacity to mobilize financing, attract investment, stabilize the economy, and materially improve the quality of life of every Venezuelan.”