Bolivian president makes World tour, meets Chirac, Zapatero, Javier Solana

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Associated Press Update 3:
Morales Aligns Himself With Castro, Chavez

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER , 01.03.2006, 11:26 PM

http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/01/03/ap2426660.html

Chávez makes waves again in Latin America

http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/01/07/en_pol_art_07A651627.shtml

Morales Holds Talks with Javier Solana

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B954F089F-AB67-4B86-80C5-F62C1DB27BB3%7D&language=EN

EU warns Bolivian leader over coca

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060106-103305-8484r

AFX News Limited
EU urges Bolivian president-elect Morales to ensure stability
01.06.2006, 01:12 AM

http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2006/01/06/afx2431843.html

Saturday, 7 January 2006, 19:05 GMT
Morales seeks support from France

Sunday January 08, 2006

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=168131782&p=y68y3z488

Solana, Morales discuss EU-Bolivian ties
Brussels, Jan 6, IRNA

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0601061657101826.htm

Morales firm on control of resources

Thursday 05 January 2006, 9:02 Makka Time, 6:02 GMT

Zapatero lobbies Morales over Bolivia energy nationalisation plans

By Leslie Crawford in Madrid Published:
January 5 2006 02:00 Last updated: January 5 2006 02:00

Spain’s Zapatero Meets President-elect Evo Morales

Morales takes to the world stage

By James Painter BBC Latin America analyst

Chavez, Morales 'fuel up' an axis

[ Wednesday, January 04, 2006 11:18:06 pm REUTERS ]

Spain cancels Bolivian debt as Morales tour starts
By Joe Ortiz
JANUARY 5, 2006

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Morales seeks support from France

Mr Morales is hoping to gain international support

Bolivia's President-elect Evo Morales has met French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on the latest stage of an international tour.

The two leaders discussed proposals by Mr Morales to partially nationalise Bolivia's gas and oil reserves.

The French energy firm, Total, is one of several foreign companies involved in Bolivia's natural gas industry.

Mr Morales, wearing his trademark jeans and shirt, thanked Mr Chirac for supporting Bolivia's indigenous people.

French officials said the Bolivian leader told Mr Chirac that he wants foreign firms, including Total, to continue to invest in his country, which has the second largest gas reserves in South America after Venezuela.

Mr Chirac told Mr Morales it was important to provide legal security for foreign investors in its gas and oil supplies.

Mr Morales, a former union leader, said he had received "unconditional solidarity and support" from Mr Chirac.

"I want to express my respect and admiration for the president of France and his government for defending the rights of the indigenous peoples of America," he said.

He said Mr Chirac expressed his "admiration for the profound changes we are undertaking" and pledged social and financial support to Bolivia.

The French president made no comment to reporters following his 45-minute meeting with the Latin American leader.

'Happy'

Earlier, his office said Mr Chirac was "very happy to see the first representative of an Indian nation assume the responsibilities of the president of Bolivia".

Mr Morales, an Aymara Indian from a poor region in the Bolivian highlands, will become Bolivia's first indigenous leader in its 180-year history when he takes office on 22 January.

Mr Morales visited the French president's ornate 18th century Elysee Palace wearing black jeans and an open-collar shirt under a leather jacket.

Over the past four days, Mr Morales has also visited Venezuela, Spain, Belgium and Holland and France. He heads next to China, South Africa and Brazil.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4591216.stm

4 January 2006 - Main Titles

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Chile Weighs Gas Alliance with Venezuela

Prensa Latina, Cuba - 12 hours ago... From Venezuela´s viewpoint, an agreement with Chile would contribute to developing the integration projects being fostered by President Hugo Chávez, and strengthening bilateral relations , which have gone through difficult moments in recent...

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BAFCC46CD-AE2C-449C-8700-DEF03B575B7A%7D)&language=EN

Venezuela, Bolivia to Discuss Oil Issues

CARACAS, Venezuela Jan 3, 2006 — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the nationalization of Bolivia's oil and natural gas resources would be a topic when he meets Tuesday with visiting Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales.

"Hydrocarbons and their nationalization we're going to talk about that," Chavez told reporters at Caracas' international airport, where a red carpet and full military honors greeted Morales.
Morales, who takes office Jan. 22, made nationalization a part of his successful presidential campaign.

He is being closely watched on how he manages Bolivia's vast natural gas resources the second-largest in South America after Venezuela. He has assured private companies operating there that he will respect their Bolivian assets but has also said the country's vast reserves have been "looted" and that current production contracts must be renegotiated.

France's Total SA and the Spanish-Argentine Repsol YPF SA are among the foreign oil companies with big investments in Bolivia.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1465848


January 1, 2006

Venezuela's Private Oil Fields Back Under Government Control

By Armando Duke

(AXcess News) Caracas, Venezuela - Sunday, Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said that the government "has successfully completed the recovery of the 32 oil fields whose control was ceded to private hands in the 1990s under concessions allowing companies to independently pump oil under contract."

Operating agreements the private oil companies and the Venevuelan government had to operate the oil fields expired December 31st when the companies failed to convert them into joint ventures with the State owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA). The joint ventures were to give majority control to PDVSA. As a result of the agreements not converting, Venezuela took back the fields.

The 32 operating agreements were signed between 1990 and 1997 during the opening of Venezuela's petroleum industry to private and foreign capital. At the time those agreements were entered into the price of oil was below $10 a barrel and the fields themselves were low-flow, meaning the rate of oil that could be pumped per day wasn't worth the PDVSA investing its resources to put them into production.

With the rise in oil prices President Hugo Chavez wanted more revenue out of Venezuela's oil production, so in 2001, he passed a new law requiring all oil field production to be majority controled by Venezuela.

Venezuela had threatened to reclaim oil fields from companies that refused to sign the so-called transitional joint-venture agreements, which will later be converted into permanent agreements with PDVSA.

Ramirez has said the amount the private companies have invested in the fields will determine the amount of control they have. In some cases, Zenezuela could see up to 90 percent ownership, which many oil companies have resisted for as long as possible.
BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Royal Dutch Shell and Petrobras SA were among those that signed earlier.

The 32 oil fields have been responsible for about 500,000 of Venezuela's official declared production of 3.2 million barrels a day.

Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and has the largest proven reserves outside of the Mideast.

http://www.axcessnews.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=7423

Bolivia's president-elect to visit Venezuela

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Bolivia's president-elect to visit Venezuela

www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-02 14:16:55

LIMA, Jan. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Bolivia's President-elect Evo Morales will head for Venezuela on Tuesday to meet with President Hugo Chavez as part of his world tour, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Morales' Venezuelan visit follows a Dec. 31 visit to Cuba, where he and Cuban leader Fidel Castro discussed ways to strengthen their countries' bilateral relations.
Morales plans a brief six-hour stop in Venezuela's capital before starting a tour of several countries including European countries, South Africa and Brazil, said his spokesman Alex Contreras.

Unlike his trip to Cuba, where he took a large support team of 60, Morales' party for his Venezuelan and European visits will be small, including his economic adviser Carlos Villegas, the spokesman said.

Like Castro, Chavez also, has offered aid to Morales' government, including a program to provide identity documents for thousands of peasants in Bolivia's rural areas, said Contreras.
Morales won the presidential elections on Dec. 18 with nearly 54 percent of the votes. Castro is the first head of state that Morales has met with since the elections. He officially takes office on Jan. 22.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/02/content_4000189.htm