The Daily Journal.- The opposition lawmaker stated that they aspire to become “a viaduct of peace, integration, and prosperity.” National Assembly (AN) deputy Antonio Ecarri formally installed the Venezuela–United States Parliamentary Friendship Group .
The Bicentennial Hall of the Federal Legislative Palace served as the venue for the official swearing-in of the Parliamentary Friendship Group between Venezuela and the United States. The parliamentary body will be chaired by Antonio Ecarri (Opposition), while Francisco Torrealba ( Ruling Party) will serve as vice president.
According to Deputy Ecarri, the launch of this group seeks to build “another bridge,” through which they hope to become “a viaduct of peace, integration, and prosperity” between the North American country and the Caribbean republic.
The most important goal, according to the leader of the Lápiz movement, is integration across different sectors:
“The Petroleum Chamber, the Venezuelan Association of Hydrocarbons, and the gas and energy guilds joined us. The idea is for this integration to bring benefits to the Venezuelan people—direct benefits for our industry, for Venezuelan wages, for Venezuelan healthcare, and for Venezuelan education.”
Following an inaugural speech reviewing the key moments in the history of bilateral relations and emphasizing the importance of respectful dialogue, Ecarri stressed that they hope to achieve “small but significant victories” in the short term through this new political moment.
“I believe that integration brings respect; the more integrated we are, the greater the respect for sovereignty (…) therefore we aspire to maintain relations in a serious, coherent, and respectful manner, without turbulence, and—of course—with great discretion because we are living through a very difficult moment for the Republic, and we must approach it with great responsibility and seriousness,” he said.
