Caracas.- Creation of a humanitarian aid reserve fund for poorer countries will be among the major proposals to be made by President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez at the Third Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

President Chávez will recommend also increasing OPEC political action around the world. “OPEC should not be only a technical organization to cooperate among ourselves in energy matters; it should get a political high-profile,” he said.

“Venezuela has devised a number of formulas to protect the poorer countries which might, and will be possibly affected adversely by soaring oil prices,” the ruler explained.

It is worth mentioning that similar initiatives have been taken in Venezuela by means of cooperation agreements in the context of Petrocaribe, Petrosur and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA).

“We should think about using a portion of the oil income in intensive literacy programs, health, education and fight against misery in Latin America, Africa and Asia,” said Chávez.

Another issue to be championed by Venezuela during the meeting is stability of oil output quotas and the urgent need to replace current pricing.

The event to be held on November 17-18 will be attended by 12 OPEC member states, in addition to Ecuador, which will formally join again the energy bloc after an absence of 15 years.