International Relations and Relationships
- 11.1Trinidad and Tobago
- 11.2United States of America
- 11.3Organisation of American States
- 11.4Other International Organisations to which Venezuela belongs
- 11.5Betancourt Doctrine
International Relations and Relationships
Trinidad and Tobago
To the people of Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela has been a neighbour and both countries have had a longstanding diplomatic relationship whereby an embassy was established as far back as 1987 if not earlier. Located on Victoria Avenue in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the modest building has served as a home office to the visitors to the country of Trinidad and Tobago, where information on the country of Venezuela was sought by many a student and school teacher who needed to boost their knowledge of the culture and the language of Spain and Venezuela.
United States of America
According to Business Insider's edition of July 2015, Venezuela was seeking to re establish diplomatic ties with the United States of America,"Maduro made the first move in March (2015) – around three months after Washington and Havana announced on 17 Dec they were seeking to restore diplomatic ties – by requesting a "direct channel of communication" with U.S. President Barack Obama and the State Department, said the official.[264]
Organisation of American States
By virtue of its geographical location, Venezuela became one of the members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on "April 30, 1948" when they signed the "CHARTER OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES (A-41)".[265] On 21 December 1951, the treaty was ratified by Venezuela "IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 145 OF THE CHARTER".[266]
In looking at the treaty, one would note that there are three (3) parts with twenty two chapters in total to the Treaty of the OAS.[267] According to the OAS website. "Chapter XXI RATIFICATION AND ENTRY INTO FORCE, Article 141" the OAS Treaty or Charter "shall be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations through the General Secretariat"[267]
In accordance with "Chapter XIII THE INTER-AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT- Article 94 – The purpose of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development is to promote cooperation among the American States for the purpose of achieving integral development and, in particular, helping to eliminate extreme poverty, in accordance with the standards of the Charter, especially those set forth in Chapter VII with respect to the economic, social, educational, cultural, scientific, and technological fields." [268] To a large extent over the years, the people of Trinidad and Tobago have benefited from the generosity of the Venezuelans, whether it was due to their innate ability to give and share or whether it was provided by the articles of the Treaty as a means to share and for that they are grateful.
Summits of the Americas
"The Summits of the Americas are institutionalized gatherings of the heads of state and government of the Western Hemisphere where leaders discuss common policy issues, affirm shared values and commit to concerted actions at the national and regional level to address continuing and new challenges faced in the Americas.[269] To date there have been seven Summits of the Americas. There have also been at least two Special Meetings which were held between 1996 and 2004.
"At the Third Summit," which was held in Quebec, Canada in 2001 "leaders instructed their foreign ministers to prepare an Inter-American Democratic Charter which was adopted on September 11, 2001 in Lima".[269]
The Fifth Summit of the Americas was held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 was attended by Hugo Chavez on behalf of Venezuela. Also in attendance were Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago and President Barack Obama of the United States of America.
The Seventh Summit of the Americas was held in Panama City, Panama on 10–11 April 2015.[270]
Peru will host the Eighth Summit of the Americas in 2018.[270]
Other International Organisations to which Venezuela belongs
"In the democratic era, Venezuela has attempted to fulfill the principles of Simon Bolivar's ideals through a variety of means. It maintained active membership in the United Nations (UN) and its related agencies, OPEC, the Organization of American States (OAS) and its related entities, and a host of other world and hemispheric organizations. In all these forums, Venezuela consistently aligned itself with other democracies" Venezuela and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the related agencies of the UN such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.[271]
Betancourt Doctrine
"The Betancourt Doctrine", named after one of the first presidents of Venezuela's democratic era, RĂ³mulo Betancourt "whereby Venezuela refused to maintain diplomatic relations with governments formed as a result of military coups, was adhered to by both administrations ( first two presidents of Venezuela's democratic era).Although the doctrine was much praised, it gradually isolated Venezuela as most other Latin American nations became dominated by nonelected regimes." [272]