Venezuelan FM: Bolivia, Venezuela face new stage in bilateral ties

Bolivia and Venezuela will move toward a "new stage in bilateral economic ties" marked by major national projects in agriculture and energy, Venezuela's Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said here Wednesday. "The new stage in bilateral ties emerges from a new vision of complementarity, where both countries can produce what we need to make the most of our resources," Jaua said in a meeting with Bolivian President Evo Morales at the presidential palace of Quemado in Bolivia's capital La Paz. Jaua arrived late Tuesday to meet with his Bolivian counterpart David Choquehuanca. He said the meeting with Morales focused on progressing economic ties, including projects in agriculture, electricity and hydrocarbons. The planned projects include the research and industrial output of lithium, which Bolivia has in abundance, food production and a textile joint venture, according to Jaua. The Venezuelan minister said further development of their economic ties will help dismantle the monopolies that "constitute permanent blackmail against the democracies in the country." Jaua also noted that through regional organizations such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the mechanisms of cooperation and complementarity between countries have been constantly renewed.