Oil pact exclusion on CARICOM agenda Jamaica in solidarity with Guyana Stabroek News October 14, 2000 Venezuela's exclusion of a number of CARICOM states, including Guyana, from its offer of crude oil on a preferential basis is to come up for discussion next week in Barbados at the CARICOM Bureau meeting. President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters yesterday that the issue was on the agenda for the meeting of the Bureau of CARICOM Heads on Monday. He said, too, that Guyana was heartened by the support from some CARICOM member countries, including Jamaica. Jamaica is one of the CARICOM states which would benefit from Venezuela's offer along with Belize, Suriname, Haiti, St Vincent and St Lucia. President Jagdeo said that in addition to comments by St Vincent's Prime Minister and CARICOM Chairman, Sir James Mitchell; and Antigua's Prime Minister, Lester Bird; he had also had calls from Jamaica's Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson. President Jagdeo had written to Sir James, expressing concern about the omission of some member states including Guyana and the reason for Guyana's exclusion given by Venezuela's Foreign Minister, Jose Vicente Rangel. He did so in the context of the discussion at the Canouan meeting of the CARICOM Heads and recent developments in Guyana/Venezuela relations over the border controversy between the two countries. Rangel was reported as stating that Guyana's exclusion was because "we have a conversation of a different kind" and that "oil has been [used as] a political weapon throughout history." President Jagdeo told Sir James that "Guyana, as a matter of principle, has always been opposed to petroleum or food exporting countries using these commodities as political weapons against importing countries, especially small vulnerable economies such as those of the Caribbean Community." And in a related matter--the maritime border dispute with Suriname--President Jagdeo said he had been informed by Prime Minister Patterson that he would be conferring with Suriname's President, Ronald Venetiaan, and would then be in touch with him. Presidents Jagdeo and Venetiaan had agreed, in Brasilia, that they would have taken the opportunity of the CARICOM/Canada summit in Jamaica last month to review the negotiations which had taken place prior to Venetiaan's assumption of office. Venetiaan did not attend the summit and Foreign Minister Marie Levens, headed Suriname's delegation. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today