Caracas, Jul 4 (Prensa Latina) The Venezuelan economy continues to strengthen as its international reserves increased to 30.5 billion dollars at the beginning of July in spite of the world economic crisis.

According to figures released by the Central Bank, from June 1 to July 1 reserves jumped 4.82 percent which is equivalent to 1.407 billion dollars.

Of the total, 29.759 billion correspond to the bank and 829 million to the Macroeconomic Stabilization Fund created by the government of President Hugo Chavez in 1998.

With this fund the state controls fluctuations of oil incomes so they do not affect budget equilibrium, exchange rate and currency.

The Venezuelan president pointed out that the Venezuelan economy continues positive as a result of different strategies and cooperation that the national government has made with allied countries.

He pointed out that Venezuelan collaboration with China to create an Economic Fund with an initial sum of 1 billion dollars and now has twice that amount.

Chavez also mentioned Russia as one of the strategic partners with which a joint company was set up for exploitation of the largest gold mine in the world, La Cristina.

The president pointed out that this company has mineral reserves of about 35.2 million ounces that, at current prices in the world market, represent 30 billion dollars for the State.

Prensa Latina
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=97862&Itemid=1

Caracas - Venezuela and the United States have decided to resume full diplomatic relations with their ambassadors returning to the respective capitals on Thursday, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement.

Earlier Thursday, the U.S. State Department confirmed that the two countries will resume their full diplomatic representation "very soon."

With Ambassador Patrick D. Duddy's return to Caracas, "full diplomatic representative will resume," U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington, adding that the ambassador is expected to arrive in Venezuela "very soon."

The U.S.-Venezuela relations have been tense in recent years. In September 2008, President Hugo Chavez ordered the expulsion of the U.S. ambassador, in solidarity with the Bolivian government's decision to expel the U.S. ambassador in La Paz.

In retaliation, the Bush administration ordered the expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador in Washington.

INSIDECOSTARICA.COM, 26 June 2009
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/june/26/la01.htm

Caracas, Jun 18 (Prensa Latina) Trade between Venezuela and China grew 13 fold in five years from $742 million to over $10 billion, said Venezuelan Trade Minister Eduardo Saman.

In a joint exhibit by 80 Chinese companies and 14 Venezuelan counterparts, Saman said events like this help boost bilateral trade and economic, political, cultural, technological and scientific co-operation and exchange.

Minister Saman reminded that such actions also help brace south-south co-operation as a preamble to establish a new world economic order.

China's stable and fast growth may also help enhance trade with Latin America and Caribbean integration within the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).

Saman added that Venezuela will boost the ALBA-Asia trade route to increase joint exports.

Prensa Latina, June 18
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93132&Itemid=1

Caracas, Jun 8 (Prensa Latina) Venezuelan National Statistics Institute (INE) Chair Elias Eljuri recognized on Monday that the country's economy is solid, despite the global economic crisis and reduction of oil price.

We can say that although there was not high growth, the economy maintained its upward trend compared to the same period of the previous year, he ratified in his statements to Desperto Venezuela, a show broadcast by Venezolana de Television station.

He said the economy has grown during 22 three-month consecutive periods since the last quarter of 2003, reaching in that period a 0.3-percent rate, while the non-oil growth rate increased in 1.3 percent and that of the oil industry decreased by 4.8 percent, due to the cut of 318,000 barrels in late 2008.

Eljuri highlighted, as an important element, the growth of fixed-capital gross investment, which is the whole investment of funds in machinery, equipment and constructions that reached 11.6 percent, he said.

In reference to inflation, he said the Venezuelan Central Bank and the INE have been analyzing it for several years, and "we are producing a National Consumer Price Index, which includes the national spectrum."

He recognized that there are unconnected indicators when inflation is calculated. For example, the shortage rate fell from 14.5 percent to 13.9 percent, and a there is still a trend to improve those indicators.

"The prophets of disaster used to say that inflation would reach 50 percent, but now there is a downward trend and the figures that we are showing determine that they are going to be even lower than last year," he remarked.

Prensa Latina, June 8, 2009
http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90095&Itemid=1

Caracas - Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Tarek El Alssaimi said Friday that the country's procedure for applying passports will be simplified to meet the high demand.

Since Sunday, passport applications will be done through a system on the Internet that has the capacity to handle some 12,000daily appointments, Alssaimi told reporters in Caracas.

The upgraded electronic method is expected to ease the process to get a passport and to eliminate the long waiting lines, he said.

The minister warned the citizens against cheaters or agencies as nobody is authorized in the procedure to charge the applicants. There are cheaters that charge even 300 bolivares (140 U.S. dollars) for a procedure that is free, he said.

It is estimated that more than half a million people will apply through the electronic system in 45 days.

INSIDECOSTARICA.COM, 14 March 2009
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2009/march/14/lam02.htm
 

Caracas, Feb 26 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela's Gross Domestic Product grew 4.8 percent in 2008, said the Central Bank while releasing results of the fourth quarter of the year.

The report said that GDP grew 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to the same period of 2007. This, together with a 5.4-percent growth in January-September, determined annual expansion and 21 consecutive quarters of significant growth.

This economic performance in the fourth quarter was triggered by a 3.6-percent rise in non-oil activity, while oil business registered a positive growth of 0.1 percent.

This lower growth in the oil sector stemmed from the implementation of a production cut policy adopted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which assigned a cut of 129,000 oil barrels a day to Venezuela.

The Central Bank of Venezuela said positive results of the quarter were registered in an international scene marked by a serious financial crisis triggered by recession in main world economies.

 Prensa Latina, February 27, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela and China agreed on Wednesday to put an additional $6 billion into a fund used finance joint development projects in areas ranging from oil production to infrastructure.

President Hugo Chavez said the fund, which grew to $12 billion, is partly aimed at increasing Venezuelan oil exports to China from 330,000 to 1 million barrels a day by 2015. The fund also finances projects in farming, manufacturing and other areas.

"It's part of a strategic alliance, and it serves common interests," Chavez told a visiting delegation led by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.

China has put $8 billion into the fund while Venezuela has invested $4 billion, Chavez said.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/18/business/LT-Venezuela-China-Development-Fund.php

International Herald Tribune  ,February 18, 2009

By Matthew Walter

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the global economic crisis hasn’t touched "even a hair" of the Venezuelan economy, even as the plunge in oil prices slashes export revenue for the OPEC member country.

Venezuela’s savings, built up in international reserves and development funds, and its implementation of foreign exchange controls helped it prepare for the drop in oil prices, Chavez said yesterday in an interview with the Venevision network.

Bloomberg.com, February 9, 2009
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Caracas, Feb 7 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela's currency reserves increased 547 million dollars compared to last week, totaling 30.32 billion dollars, the Central Bank reported.

That amount exceeds the level of 30 billion dollars in international currency that is considered appropriate for the national economy.

The Central Bank added that 828 million dollars are deposited in the Macroeconomic Stabilization Fund, created to stabilize the accounts in case of oil price alterations.

In early 2009, the government of President Hugo Chavez transferred 12 billion dollars from the surplus reserves to the National Development Fund, aimed at carrying out economic and social projects.

Prensa Latina, February 7. 2009
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Caracas, Jan 5 (Prensa Latina) Despite the world financial crisis the future looks hopeful for Venezuelans, due to its economic strength and absence of being affected, affirmed the minister of Communication and Information, Jesse Chacon.

Chacon told media that the South American nation has been relatively unaffected by the crisis started in the United States and warned that, despite measures taken, the situation will not affect Venezuela.

"We cannot say that the crisis will not touch us because we are part of the globalized reality but it will affect us less than other countries," he pointed out.

Chacon expressed that this is mainly due to the fact that the country has sufficient savings of currency and proof of that is the great number of Venezuelans who traveled abroad during New Years and to national destinations.

Prensa Latina, January 5, 2009

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