The Daily Journal. — The administration of Delcy Rodríguez and the National Assembly elected in 2015 agreed to focus their efforts on recovering Venezuela’s international reserve assets held at the Bank of England, as part of the agreements reached during the first round of talks between the two sides.
The commitment forms part of the measures both sides agreed to implement to finance and strengthen assistance for victims of the June 24 double earthquake. According to the joint statement released Wednesday, the delegations will seek to establish mechanisms to recover those resources and allocate them to programs covering housing, electricity, healthcare, and debris removal.
Both sides agreed to pursue the recovery of the assets through mechanisms that ensure “transparency, traceability, and auditing” to guarantee their efficient use and, according to the document, direct the resources toward the well-being of people affected by the earthquakes.
The agreement represents one of the main economic outcomes of the first round of talks between the delegations led by Jorge Rodríguez, representing the national government, and Dinorah Figuera, representing the 2015 National Assembly.
The statement does not specify the value of the assets, nor does it detail the legal or financial mechanism the parties intend to use to access the funds held in the United Kingdom. It also does not clarify whether the agreement entails a new request to British authorities or the resumption of previously initiated proceedings.
The document only states that both delegations “will focus their efforts on promoting the recovery of Venezuela’s international reserve assets at the Bank of England” and that control and oversight mechanisms will govern their use.
Resources to address the emergency
The agreement directly links the recovery of the assets to the response to the earthquake disaster. The delegations agreed to strengthen programs that address the needs of affected communities, particularly in housing, electricity services, healthcare, and debris removal.
The parties included the commitment in the first item of the agreements they reached after five technical working sessions and five plenary meetings.
The statement establishes that the implementation schedule will begin in August, with official announcements and concrete actions, under an ongoing working mechanism to oversee compliance with the commitments.
