Africa is the origin of civilisation – Chavez

Africa is the origin of civilisation – Chavez
Written by Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Sunday, September 06, 2009 7:06:08 PM

AFRICA is the origin of civilisation, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said. Announcing Venezuela's hosting of the 2nd African-South American heads of state summit from September 26-27 on Margarita Island, President Chavez said Latin America and Africa were crucial in creating a multipolar world.

"Africa is at the core of the world," President Chavez told the Venezuelan television from Tripoli, Libya where he attended the AU summit on Monday, including the 40th anniversary of Colonel Muammar Gadafi's rise to power.

"It [Africa] is the origin of civilisation and the origin of the humankind. It has great reserves of minerals, oil and gas."

He called for accelerated development of the region's gas system, search for better industrial development and promotion of food and pharmaceutical production, which both Africa and Latin America needed most.

President Chavez said the forthcoming African-South American summit would advance the agenda on strengthening bilateral relations in such areas as scientific, political, economic and energy sectors.

He said the summit would also touch issues of the prevailing global economic and financial crisis, creation of a bank to link Latin America and Africa, alternative currency for trade and creation of an educational system to attain a better education for the youth on both continents.

"Today [Monday] in my speech [before the AU] I made reference to essential issues such as the creation of the university of the south understood as a system of universities and training centres to boost the education of doctors, nurses and professionals in different areas," he said.

President Chavez observed that African states were already working on the thesis of a central bank and a common currency as well as an energy cooperation initiative for the South.

President Chavez's itinerary includes visits to Libya, Algeria, Syria, Iran, Russia and Belarus to "fulfil political and economic objectives and strengthen the Bolivarian Revolution" he has been leading since 1999.

The tour approved by Venezuela's Parliament last week would last until September 11 as it is aimed at economic diversification. President Chavez said there was need for Venezuela to start moving away from mono-production of oil.

But with Colombia's opening of seven military bases to the US, President Chavez is expected to venture into military and energy talks particularly with Russia.

Russia has already supplied Venezuela with fighter jets, the Sukhoil.

President Chavez has not hidden his detest of US forces within the Venezuelan borders.

Describing last Friday's extraordinary Union of South American states (UNASUR) summit held in Bariloche, Argentina, President Chavez said the US strategy had always been notable for weakening and destroying any attempt the peoples had made to determine their own destiny.

He asked Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to renegotiate [revise] the military agreement between Colombia and the United States, signed last August 19 for the sake of unity and peace in South America.

"There is no possible domination if the processes of sovereignty and independence are not undermined," he said. "The time of hidden agendas and agreements signed behind the scenes is over."

President Chavez said the UNASUR summit was frank and crude and sometimes tense because of obvious ideological core differences.

"But we have to deal with these differences in order to maintain and reinforce the South American unity," said President Chavez.

"Uribe's rhetoric and pettifogging language worries. The problem is that, once the seven bases are settled, Colombia cannot offer any guarantee to anyone. Once they [US troops] are settled in Colombia, who knows how long they will stay there? Thus, the peace in the South American region is and will be always threatened. And what we want, most of UNASUR members agreed in Bariloche, is to transform South America into a peace region. What we want is to eliminate the possibility of a war."