Venezuela, China pals in space, and aid

May 19, 2005
Jens Erik Gould
Daily Journal Staff
This is part of a series of re-published articles I wrote in 2005 for the Daily Journal in Caracas.

Rene Arreaza, director of the space commission, said Wednesday that Venezuela will put a satellite in orbit with the help of China.
The satellite, which Arreaza hopes to launch within 2 to 3 years, will provide telecommunications technology, help integrate the nation's communications network, and could give advance warning of natural disasters, reported AP.
"After studying other alternatives with Russia, Ukraine, France, India, Argentina and Brazil, we concluded that China is the best option-not necessarily commercial, but in terms of human resources training and the effective transfer of technology," said Arreaza.
The Chinese embassy also donated basic necessities to residents of the El Onoto neighborhood and to seniors at the Dr. JoaquÌn Quintero Quintero geriatric clinic in Caricuao, the Bolivarian News Agency (ABN) reported.
Donated items included chairs, sowing machines, beds and stoves. 43 residents of El Onoto and 335 seniors received the aid.
The initiative was sparked by a recent trip to El Onoto by William Izarra, the foreign ministry's deputy for Asia and the Middle East and Zhan Bolun, the second political secretary for the Chinese embassy in Venezuela.
Izarra said that Venezuela had also helped Asia after the recent tsunami. He added that President Hugo Chavez would soon launch a project called "A Bolivar for Asia," which would aid Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
"For us, Asia is the region where strategic links for an multi-polar world alliance can be established," said Izarra.