Bolivarian Government of Venezuela
Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Office of The Deputy Minister for Africa
Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Kenya Concurrent to Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia
Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations Environment programme (UNEP)and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (ONU Habitat).
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL. 1:
ISSUE. 29, 5th October 2015
Maduro attends Summit of Black Leaders in US with against this old narrative of racism, which continues to afflict our people,” said Maduro.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, attended the Leaders Summit of African Descent in the Black National Theater in Harlen, Manhattan, in the city of New York, US, where he was welcomed by the rhythm of the African peoples.There, Maduro said “we are happy to be here, in Harlem, an historic place of struggle for the rights of the ancestral peoples.”
The President stress that the world needs “a new radical consciousness of humanism” to struggle against racism. Maduro also assured that the world needs a new economic mold to break the monopoly; “we need to build economic models to help us to fairly distribute the wealth.” People’s Summit in the city of Caracas Maduro also proposed to carry out the People’s Summit in Caracas to discuss about the plan of the social movement in the international field to defend the 17 goals of the United Nations to struggle against poverty and for the social equality. www.hoyvenezuela.info
During the encounter, Maduro, along with the leaders of the black community, discussed several issued such as the victims of the police brutality in the United States. “From South America, please believe me when I tell you, that we have also suffered along
Inside This Issue:
pg1. Maduro attends summit of black leaders in US pg2. Venezuela’s Maduro Calls for a New Anti-Imperialist geopolitics at the UN. pg4. Kenya signs nuclear power partnership deal with China
Venezuela’s M a d u r o Calls for a New Anti-Imperialist Geopolitics at the UN.
“200 years on from that prophetic letter (the Jamaica Letter), we, at the heart of the United Nations, keep ratifying in our own, dignified voice, out loud and steadfast: the world needs another United Nations, the world needs a profound transformation of the system it created 70 years ago,” Maduro affirmed. In particular, Maduro urged the UN to establish a series of new norms that would prohibit the use of armed interventions. “Who will pay for the crimes against Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan?” The Venezuelan President, who previously served as foreign minister for six years to former president Hugo Chavez, went on to condemn the governments which had promoted war. He beseeched world leaders to recognise the “tragic errors” of having intervened in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Drawing on the legacy of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on world leaders to build a “new geopolitics, a new concept and a new world” at the United Nations 70th General Assembly in New York this past Tuesday. Beginning his speech by referencing “the Jamaica Letter” written by Bolivar 200 years ago, Maduro said the time had come to move beyond an international system based on imposing “ one way of thinking, neoliberalism, which has sown poverty illness and misery” across the globe and especially in the global South. “Thanks to the revolutionary strength of the people… the time has arrived for a multi-polar world, a world without hegemony… We dare to say, with Bolivar, that the world needs a new geopolitics. The world needs the truth of the people to be imposed,” said the president. In his impassioned address, which received several rounds of applause throughout, Maduro described the UN as one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but stated that only a thorough transformation of the institution would enable it to achieve its founding principles.
Stating that history had shown these wars to be motivated by the control of profitable markets and resources as opposed to the wellbeing of people, Maduro accused politicians of failing the cause of international relations. “Who will pay for the crimes in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan? This is the politics of terror, of war… We have to ask, did this bring peace, stability?” The murder of former Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi at the hands of Western-backed rebels in 2011 was also officially decried as a “crime” by Maduro to the applause of the room. “No matter the political differences… Nobody in this world is authorized, neither by the UN or any law, to judge or prejudge the political regime of another country, nor to attempt to effect the regime change of another government,” he declared. There is Still Time Nonetheless Maduro emphasized that there was “still time” to avoid another tragedy in the current wore torn Syria, provided that the UN act as a united body to block further intervention in the Arab nation. He also supported Russian president Vladimir Putin’s call to create a “new alliance for peace”. “Only peace can guarantee the viability of development,” he said.
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US Decree a Threat to Venezuela In a stinging criticism of US president Barack Obama, Maduro also lambasted the executive order signed by the US head of state on March 9th which classifies Venezuela as an “extraordinary threat” to US national security.
Similarly, a meeting with Guyanese President David Granger on the sidelines of the UN assembly last Sunday paved the way for the establishment of a UN mediation team to act as interlocutor in the border dispute between the two neighbouring countries.
Several international observers have interpreted the executive order as a possible prelude to the enactment of economic sanctions against Venezuela, where public outcry against the order is significant.
Elections
Obama publicly back peddled on the wording of the decree and denied that Venezuela was a security threat to the US on the back of international protest. Nonetheless, he has refused to revoke the decree until now. “The declarations by President Barack Obama which recognize Venezuela as a country of peace that has not been and which is not a threat to the US is a positive step… but I have to say as head of state… that the decree emitted on March 9th 2015 bust be revoked, it must be annulled because it is a threat to my homeland, it is a threat to our country,” he said. Maduro also called on the US government to end its blockade of Cuba “as soon as possible” and to return the territory of Guantanamo Bay, currently used as an interrogation centre by the US military, to the Cuban state. The president’s strong words against Barak Obama were the most inflammatory part of his address, which comes on the back of a series of recent diplomatic triumphs for the Venezuelan government.
Finally, Maduro voiced his commitment to preserving Venezuelan democracy in the face of threats ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections this coming December. Highlighting that Venezuela’s electoral system has been hailed as “the best in the world” by former US president Jimmy Carter, Maduro pointed out that the country had been the target of a number of attempts to unseat its government since its citizens voted for a socialist project in 1999. He urged international observers to be on the lookout for foul play during the upcoming elections. “I ask the world to be extremely attentive to any attempt to violate Venezuela’s political life,” he stated. Parliamentary elections are set for December 6th and will be monitored by a commission sent by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). www.hoyvenezuela.info
Earlier last week Maduro brokered an agreement with his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos to reinstate diplomatic relations between the two countries following an ongoing altercation over border policing.
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KENYA SIGNS NUCLEAR POWER PARTNERSHIP DEAL WITH CHINA China General Nuclear Power Corporation is China’s largest nuclear power operator with 14 reactors. The company is currently involved in the construction of a dozen other nuclear power plants. This development comes hot on the heels of a review of Kenya’s nuclear power programme, which was conducted over an eight-day period last month by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts. The IAEA team concluded that Kenya had made significant progress in its preparations to make a knowledgeable decision about introducing n u c l e a r Kenya’s plans for nuclear electricity generation by power. 2025 have received a boost following the signing of a partnership agreement with China. The memorandum of understanding signed between the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board and the China General Nuclear Power Corporation will enable Kenya obtain expertise from China by way of training and skills development, technical support in areas such as The INIR team also made recommendations and site selection for Kenya’s nuclear power plants and feasibility suggestions aimed at assisting Kenya in the further studies including safety analysis and environmental impact development of its nuclear infrastructure. assessment. In addition, Kenya will obtain firsthand knowledge of China’s nuclear power technology.
“This is an important partnership on the road to the realization of our nuclear power programme,” said KNEB Chairman Mr. Ochilo Ayacko.The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Guangdong Province, southern China. The China General Nuclear Power Corporation operates third-generation HPR 1000 nuclear power plants. Kenya is yet to settle on the model of reactors for its nuclear power plants. Thus, the Hualong One reactor, which generates 1000MW of electricity, is among those under consideration as the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board continues with the technology assessment of nuclear reactor models available from various parts of the world.
Kenya has previously signed agreements on nuclear power cooperation with Slovakia and South Korea. A Kenyan delegation toured Russia earlier this year to explore ways of enhancing cooperation in nuclear energy. As part of the partnership with South Korea, more than ten Kenya students have been enrolled over the past three years at the KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School (K-INGS) to undertake masters degree courses in Nuclear Power Engineering.
Kenya plans to set up a first nuclear power plant with a capacity of 1000MW by 2025. This is expected to rise to a total of 4000MW by 2033 making nuclear electricity a key component of the country’s energy mix which is projected will be about 19,000MW in total. Besides Mr. Ayacko, those present during the MoU Kenya currently has an installed capacity of 2298MW signing were three MPs who are members of the Departmental Committee on Energy of Kenya’s National Assembly, Hon. Arthur Papa Odera (Teso North), Hon. Esther Gathogo (Ruiru) and Hon. James Lomenen (Turkana South), Director-General of the Energy Regulatory Commission Eng. Joseph Ng’ang’a and Chief Geologist in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Mr. John Omenge.
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