President Chávez surrounded by Fund staff. The President spoke with appreciation of the work the Fund is doing.

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, HE Mr. Hugo Chávez Frías, visited the OPEC Fund, October 17, during a 17-day tour which took him to, among others, four OPEC states (Algeria, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I.R. Iran and the G.S.P. Libyan A.J.) and several European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Russia.

The President's entourage included honorable ministers and several ranking state officials. Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Luis Alfonso Davila, disclosed that the purpose of the tour was to discuss bilateral issues and review existing agreements with the various partners, in the areas of energy, science, technology, the economy, culture, politics and commerce.

President Chávez and his entourage were received by the Director-General of the OPEC Fund, HE Dr. Y Seyyid Abdulai, and other senior officials of the Fund. Although the Fund had, on a number of previous occasions, welcomed heads of state of beneficiary countries, this was the first time a member-country head of state had visited the institution.

At a brief meeting with Management and Staff of the OPEC Fund, President Chávez informed the staff that he was fully aware of the work the Fund did, worldwide, and was appreciative of the Fund's efforts on behalf of member states. Dr. Abdulai acknowledged the President's commitment to the cause of OPEC, as an organization, and to the work of the OPEC Fund, as a development finance agency. The Director-General said the Fund was honored by the President's presence, especially at this time of global uncertainties. "It is not very often that we are privileged with highest-level visits such as this," he said.

He recalled the President's organization and hosting of the hugely successful second OPEC Summit, which took place in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, in September 2000. "The meeting clearly met the set challenge of revitalizing our Organization and reaffirming the commitment to development made by the generation of leaders before us," he said.

Responding, President Chávez reiterated his personal interest in the development cooperation activities of the OPEC Fund:

The Fund may be modest in size, but its achievements are great and of immense importance to millions of poor people around the world.

The President urged fellow member countries to provide more support to the institution:

As members of the OPEC Fund, we have a responsibility to strengthen and enlarge it. It is a duty of OPEC member countries and, indeed, the entire world, to help build a better world for all and seek justice and peace.

The President concluded with a tribute to the endeavors of the Fund's Management and Staff, who he said were "deserving of recognition" for their work.

Earlier the same day, President Chávez had visited the OPEC Secretariat (also in Vienna), where he met the staff of the organization and a special assembly of invited guests. These included ranking Austrian government officials, representatives of the business community and other international organizations based in Vienna, and the diplomatic corps, including most OPEC ambassadors and heads of missions.

Addressing that gathering, the President focused on international relations and touched on peace, security and development. He expressed the hope that the 21st century would differ from the preceding century, "in terms of war and destruction." The world required peace; and lasting peace required justice, fairness and equity, he said. He believed that the root causes of present-day crises could be traced to injustice, poverty, misery and arbitrary actions. He also expressed concern about a lack of balance in the world economy.

President Chávez, furthermore, told the assembled guests that OPEC was an indispensable organization today - and not only for the member countries. He spoke of a need to give OPEC a new profile after 40 years of existence. He called on OPEC leaders to examine the possibility of creating a trading bloc, a common market or, indeed, an economic union, "with a capacity for action in spheres beyond oil." OPEC, he advised, should develop technical, scientific and agricultural capabilities, "to give greater strength to our countries."

Since his assumption of office, President Chávez has devoted no small measure of his time to working closely with the rest of the leadership of OPEC countries to help anchor the position of OPEC in the realm of international relations.

In the past several years, the President has managed to visit with almost all of his OPEC counterparts, consulting with them on matters of mutual and vital interest to OPEC countries. He is credited with the success of the OPEC summit in Caracas, whose resultant, multi-paragraph Caracas Declaration addressed oil and energy issues and the subject of development cooperation. It designated the eradication of poverty an "overriding global priority."

Signing the guest book.

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