KINGSTON, Jamaica - SIX-and-a-half years ago a historic accord was signed between Venezuela and various member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) for the inauguration of an energy-based co-operation venture known as PetroCaribe.
It was to unfold across this region and beyond as manifestation of President Hugo Chavez’s vision of a unique form of co-operation to assist the vulnerable economies of signatory partners to cope with stressful socio-economic challenges resulting from ever-rising oil prices
Jamaica was to emerge as perhaps the single biggest beneficiary of the PetroCaribe project. But from Kingston to Georgetown in Guyana and across countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) there are examples of how the Chavez-led initiative has helped to cushion the economic burden, more notably in St Vincent and Grenadines and Dominica.