Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez, who arrived in the United States yesterday to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump today and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar tomorrow.
On her first trip to the US since becoming acting president, Rodríguez was welcomed yesterday by John Barrett, the US Chargé d’Affaires for Venezuela, along with Venezuelan ministers Calixto Ortega, Vice President for Economic Affairs, and Oliver Blanco, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Rodríguez is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday.
According to US media reports, she said her speech will seek to ensure that “Venezuela’s voice is heard” and that the country is seen as one that “bets on peace, dialogue and the construction of shared paths.”
She said she arrived in New York with the “resolve and hope of a people who believe in the encounter and unity among nations.”
Rodríguez added that her address would defend Venezuela’s principles through a work agenda based on respect, cooperation and understanding.
Her schedule yesterday included meetings with Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn and UN Secretary General António Guterres.
Rodríguez’s talks with Trump today will mark their first face-to-face meeting since the United States captured former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in January. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of a reception being hosted by Trump.
The Trinidad and Tobago Government recently announced that Persad-Bissessar and Rodríguez will hold a bilateral meeting at noon tomorrow on the sidelines of the UNGA. Discussions are expected to focus primarily on energy and trade, while also addressing broader areas of multilateral cooperation.
The meeting is expected to formalise enhanced cooperation on priority matters identified during talks between the foreign affairs ministers of T&T and Venezuela in Caracas two weeks ago.
Government officials are hopeful that tomorrow’s meeting could result in an exchange of invitations for each leader to visit the other’s country, as well as the issuance of a joint statement.
