While the presidents of Venezuela and the United States may not like each other very much, commercial ties between the two countries are very close. The United States is Venezuela's most important trading partner, representing about half of both imports and exports. In turn, Venezuela is the United States’ third-largest export market in Latin America, purchasing U.S. machinery, transportation equipment, agricultural commodities, and auto parts. With its major oil reserves, Venezuela will have an important place in U.S. policy considerations. Bernardo Alvarez, Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States, will address the current state of U.S.-Venezuelan Relations in a presentation at UW-Milwaukee (Merrill Hall Room 131, 2512 East Hartford Avenue) on Friday, May 12, 2006 at 7:00 pm.
Ambassador Alvarez took up his current post in 2003. He has also been a professor at the School of Political and Administrative Studies at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, vice minister of hydrocarbons (2000-03) at the Ministry of Energy, executive secretary and Venezuelan representative for the Forum on Debt and Development (1988-91), and chief of the Research and Development Division at the Venezuelan Institute of Foreign Trade.
The presentation is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the
UW-Milwaukee's Institute of World Affairs, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Africology Department, Department of Spanish and Portuguese; Peace Action-WI, and the Bolivarian Circle of Milwaukee For more information, please send an email to:
mkecircle@gmail.com.
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