Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday signed nine mining investment agreements worth 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, as part of the country's push to reduce its reliance on oil exports.
At a ceremony at the Central Bank of Venezuela attended by industrialists, Maduro said the Arco Minero project to develop mining over 111,800 square km in the country's southern Orinoco region, was designed "to break with the reliance on oil."
"We cannot continue to depend on oil, nor pray to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) for a rise in oil prices," said Maduro, referring to historically low market prices for crude.
The contracts signed with both national and international companies "are part of the most ambitious and important sovereign project ever launched in Venezuela in the area of mining," said Maduro, adding it was both "of national interest" and "win-win" for all parties involved.
Maduro also said the authorities had consulted with leaders of indigenous communities in the south of the country to assure them the projects would be environmentally responsible.
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