PM Rowley signs gas deal today

A high-powered delegation, led by Prime Minister (PM) Dr Keith Rowley, is scheduled to arrive at the Sim?n Bol?var International Airport in Maiquet?a, about 21 kilometres from downtown Caracas, at 9.55 am today.

The delegation includes Energy Minister, Franklin Khan, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Dennis Moses, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs, Stuart Young, as well as Petrotrin Chairman Professor Andrew Jupiter and NGC Chairman Gerry Brooks.

Members of the TT media also accompanied the delegation on a chartered Caribbean Airlines Limited flight from Piarco International Airport, Piarco this morning on Rowley’s first Official Visit to Venezuela as PM.

The official signing ceremony will be followed by a press conference before the delegation’s scheduled departure at 4 pm for their return flight to Trinidad.

Contacted by Newsday yesterday, the Energy Minister said he preferred not to say much ahead of today’s press conference.

“There’ll be a signing ceremony and a Government-to-Government agreement for the export of Venezuelan gas to Trinidad.

“I don’t want to say any more because that’s the PM’s prerogative and they’ll be making a lot of statements tomorrow (today),” Khan stated.

Meanwhile, speaking with the media around midday on Saturday on the sidelines of an HDC key distribution ceremony in Port-of-Spain, Stuart Young said he was “still in conversation with my Venezuelan counterparts and things are going very, very well. We are looking forward to Monday’s trip and quite frankly, it will be historical.” The minister also said matters such as security may be on the agenda during Rowley’s meets Venezuela’s President, Nicol?s Maduro.