Portugal’s minister for foreign affairs is in Venezuela this week, trying to forge some form of middle ground in the bizarre “pork knuckle war” that saw the president of the South American country blame Portugal for “sabotaging Christmas” (click here).
Augusto Santos Silva is quoted as having told journalists as he set off last weekend that “Venezuela is an important economic partner of Portugal in Latin America.
“It used to be more, now it is less, but we hope it returns to being more”.
The four-day visit is designed to “contribute to identifying problems and seeking solutions in contractual relations between Portuguese businesses and private and public Venezuelan entities”.
High on the agenda will be the €43 million that Venezuela is understood to ‘owe’ a group of Portuguese food suppliers for ‘pernil de porco’ (pork knuckle).
In the face of Venezuela’s parlous economic situation, a ‘political solution’ is probably all that Portugal could hope for, with Santos Silva reiterating the EU position regarding Venezuela’s social and economic crisis that sees the country bound by multiple economic sanctions.
Santos Silva’s visit will take in talks with the EU ambassador in Venezuela, Isabel Pedrosa, and the Archbishop of Caracas Jorge Urosa Savino.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
