Venezuela has offered St Vincent and the Grenadines debt relief and concessions in excess of eight percent of the country’s debt.

This was disclosed by Prime Minster Ralph Gonsalves upon his return from Venezuela. Gonsalves advised that, “Venezuela has given us 100 per cent relief on the remaining debt to PetroCaribe, which amounts to approximately EC$189 million.”

He stated that Petrocaribe will be restarted with a discount of 35 per cent on the price of fuel in participating countries. Currently, 18 countries of the Caribbean are part of PetroCaribe. The alliance was established in the coastal city of Puerto La Cruz, in June 2005, with Venezuela providing oil supplies based on a concessionary financial agreement.

In addition, Prime Minister Gonsalves said there would be weekly shipments of urea to be used in agricultural fertilizers and free asphalt to repair roads. In addition over 100 prefabricated houses will also be donated by Venezuela.

Gonsalves reported that these will be donated to those who lost their homes during natural disasters in 2021.