The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : India, Venezuela should have a shared social agenda: Ramirez

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 04, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

India, Venezuela should have a shared social agenda: Ramirez

Priscilla Jebaraj

Venezuelan envoy launches Pablo Neruda School of Spanish and Latin American Studies Envoy opens School of Spanish, Latin American Studies

HER VISION: Venezuelan Ambassador to India Milena Santana-Ramirez in Chennai on Tuesday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: The relevance of south-south relationship is more important than ever in today's world, says Venezuela's Ambassador to India Milena Santana-Ramirez.

Her government, led by President Hugo Chavez, is backing up that policy with action, she says, pointing to the bilateral agreements signed on energy and biotechnology during Mr. Chavez' visit to India last year.

It's all about "complementary strengths", Ms. Ramirez told The Hindu . For example, she says, "Venezuela is rich in oil deposits, and power-hungry India is increasing its oil imports every year. Many Venezuelan companies also want to set up base in India, and most of the momentum comes from last year's visit."

On the other hand, India's vast network of small and medium enterprises and the co-operatives created by the white revolution and the green revolution have lessons for Venezuela, she says. "Here in Tamil Nadu, I have seen entire towns sustained by SMEs."

But the Indo-Venezuelan relationship is more than just bilateral deals. The two nations share many concerns, which can be raised on the world stage. We should have a shared ecological and social agenda when issues like inclusion and conservation come up in international fora, says Ms. Ramirez.

One of the most important of those international fora is the Non-Aligned Movement, which is evolving to face the new challenges of the post-war world. President Chavez took a lead at last month's NAM summit, making innovative proposals like a Bank of the South to provide an alternative to the World Bank and IMF, saying "This is about re-launching the potential of NAM and the basis of unity of this movement."

Ms. Ramirez pointed out that his definition is important, as NAM evolves to face the new challenges of the 21st century, "We must remember, NAM is still a movement, it's not an organisation."

The Ambassador launched the Pablo Neruda School of Spanish and Latin American Studies in Chennai. She feels "language is a vehicle" to develop people-to-people contacts apart from trade and inter-governmental interaction. The school offers beginners and advanced level Spanish classes as well as a perspective on the culture of Latin America and Spain. Classes start next Monday and more details are available at 65283258.

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