Venezuela, Suriname seeking to strengthen mutual cooperation

Presidents of Suriname and Venezuela agreed to strengthen bilateral relations in social and economic arenas, particularly in the energy sector. The meeting took place at Miraflores Presidential Palace, Caracas, where president Nicolas Maduro welcomed his Surinamese counterpart Disree Delano Bouterse after the opening a conference of the Union of South American Conference (UNASUR) on natural resources in the region, the official Venezuelan AVN news agency reported. UNASUR works to defend, manage and carry out a correct development of natural resources in Latin America and the Caribbean, said Maduro. About regional integration processes, the Venezuelan President said, "We are recovering wasted historic time and we are giving several steps forward, toward what the world will be now: a multi-central world, as Commander Hugo Chavez defined it once, a pluripolar world." Bouterse, for his part, said that Latin America and the Caribbean were apart from the world's development, "but today, roles are changing". Also, he stressed that it was the dream of Liberator Simon Bolivar and it was rescued by Commander Hugo Chavez, who "struggled for unity, solidarity, people, and peace". In 2010, Venezuela and Suriname signed four complementary agreements in matters of rice growing and exploitation, urea and oil supply, as well as housing for the poor.