SPEECH OF THE PEOPLE´S MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND MINING, AND PRESIDENT OF PDVSA, RAFAEL RAMIREZ, DURING THE 163RD MEETING OF THE OPEC CONFERENCE
Vienna, Austria.- May 31, 2013
Excellencies, Heads of Delegation, Secretary General of OPEC, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to take this opportunity to address the Conference in order to convey a message from the People and Government of Venezuela following the recent death of our President Hugo Chávez Frias. I am talking from the depth of my heart. After twelve years of working together, we stayed with him up to the last moment, during his strong battle for life. For us, and especially for our poorest people, this circumstance meant a strong pain for Venezuela, because President Chávez was the leader of our Revolution and our hopes. All the Venezuelan People went to the streets to walk along with him up to the Cuartel de la Montańa, where he is resting, in the heart of one of the most militant barrios of Caracas.
El Comandante Hugo Chávez was elected President of Venezuela in December 1998 and led our country as Head of State until he passed away on March 5th this year. President Chávez was always an enthusiastic and staunch defender of OPEC and its principles. He played an active role in promoting the Second Summit of Heads of State and Government in Caracas in September 2000, which gave him the opportunity to build close and solid relations of friendship with all the leaders of our Member Countries. He thus contributed significantly to re-establishing unity and confidence within OPEC which further consolidated the Organization and stabilized the international oil market. His visits to all Member Countries and to the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna prior to the Summit are testimony of these endeavors.
He always understood the significance and relevance of the OPEC cohesion and developed a sincere love for the Arabian, Persian and African People as brothers of our South American People.
Within Venezuela, President Chávez fought an extraordinary battle to re-establish the sovereign management of our petroleum resources and to channel the country’s oil revenues to the benefit of the Venezuelan People. His political contributions, especially in the field of petroleum, are a legacy which is patrimony of all oil-producing countries and of our Organization, OPEC.
I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Secretary General of OPEC for honoring the memory of Hugo Chávez in the recently published OPEC Bulletin, his photo appearing on the front page, with several pages of text and photos dedicated to his outstanding performance in the interest of our Organization. We deeply appreciate that this edition of the OPEC Bulletin also included the condolence message which the Secretary General, His Excellency Abdulla Salem El-Badri, transmitted to us.
I would also like to take this opportunity to convey my sincere thanks for the condolence message from then President of the Conference, His Excellency Hani Abulaziz Hussain, former Minister of Oil of the State of Kuwait, as well as the condolences received from other high-level representatives of Member Countries who shared our grief at this difficult time.
Finally, on behalf of our President Nicolás Maduro Moros, may I assure you that our government and people continue to feel strongly committed to the oil policy of President Chávez and to the unity and stength of our Organization, OPEC.
ˇViva Chávez!
Thank you very much.