The President in his response to a toast by Venezuelan Ambassador, Mr. Jean Francois Pulvenis said, "we are reminded of the struggles of their heroes who fought for their independence. The vision of Simon Bolivar the Liberator, continues to inspire all of us in Latin America and the Caribbean towards closer integration."

Alluding to the cooperation at the regional level through the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), President Jagdeo noted: "were Bolivar alive today, he would have been proud and pleased that the region remains committed to integration, as a practical and beneficial ideal that he adumbrated long before the advent of globalisation and the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas), and that Venezuela is playing an important role in this process."

He made special mention of the Caracas Energy cooperation agreement the Government of President Hugo Chavez initiated to assist oil-importing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Jagdeo said he was pleased to have had the opportunity in Margarita last December to confirm Guyana's accession to the facility.

The President lauded the cooperation of the two states at various international and bilateral levels, including the Organisation of American States, the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement and most of all its contiguous states, as Guyana and Venezuela continue to work assiduously with other countries of the region to promote common objectives.

"...Guyana is pleased to note that our two countries are contributing to forge better relations and to enhance functional cooperation in almost every field. Those efforts have been dictated by our geography and inspired by the recognition of the need for joint approaches to common concerns such as health, drugs, sustainable utilisation of living marine resources, environmental protection, access to markets and tariff and non-tariff barriers to increasing trade between Guyana and Venezuela and between CARICOM and Venezuela."

The President added: "Our two peoples will gain much from the programme of cultural exchange now being discussed. Not only will we have opportunities to further develop friendship and trust between our countries but we will also be better placed to resolve whatever the problems that exist between our countries. It is my expectation that the exchange programme will expand significantly."

Ambassador Pulvenis, at a reception he hosted to mark the occasion, reflected that the birth of the Venezuelan nation came with many ideals and expectations.

"We are here to commemorate, to celebrate, the day that marked the birth of our nation, a day that was pregnant with many ideals and expectations. We are also here to reflect on the future and on the course that has to be chartered still," he said.

According to the Ambassador, solidarity between Guyana and Venezuela flows naturally "from the spontaneous links that our peoples have already established between themselves. It also flows from the so many similar challenges and difficulties we are facing and sharing identical values and commitments," remarked Pulvenis, adding that the common commitments include respect for democracy, rule of law, for the constitutions of both countries, social justice, the fight against poverty and sustainable development for the prosperity of both nations.