Cienfuegos.- President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frías and First Vice-President of the Council of State and Government of the Republic of Cuba Raúl Castro Ruz, also the head of delegation of the host country, opened the Fourth Petrocaribe’s Summit. Sessions started on Friday at 10:15 a.m. at Jagua Hotel, in Cienfuegos.

Castro Ruz, the key speaker, highlighted the significance of the meeting for Petrocaribe's member states. "As oil prices are smashing all the records; in the face of a serious situation for most third-world nations and net importers of energy, Petrocaribe's member states are in a privileged position".

He noted that Petrocaribe’s member states enjoy a facility that gives them preferential access at fair market prices to energy resources which ensure prospective development and people's daily routine.

“Therefore, this initiative, which is the result of the solidarity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and President Hugo Chávez Frías, needs to be developed further and all its components should be fully implemented,” he added.

Castro Ruz pondered on the current world situation in the energy field and made reference to the policies of industrialized superpowers, which force to make comparisons.

“Sure enough, increasing consumption in industrialized countries has had, has and will have, if not curbed, devastating effects on the planet," he cautioned.

“Such a wasteful and contaminating consumption has resulted over the past few years in depletion of many hydrocarbons sources and climatic change,” said Castro Ruz.

Consumption patterns and behavior of industrialized nations are intended "to turn us in spendthrift, contaminating and predating nations,” said the head of delegation of the host country.

The meeting was attended by 11 heads of government of the member states and other senior government authorities.

Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados were the countries invited, in addition to newcomer Honduras.

(Information supplied by state-run news agency Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, ABN).