Politics
Venezuela and Vietnam signed on Thursday 15 industrial, energy and cooperation agreements in the context of the first visit of a Vietnamese President to Venezuela. 

The agreements were initialed at the Miraflores Palace, the seat of government in Venezuela, in the presence of President Hugo Chávez and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet.

The main document was a memorandum of understanding between state-run oil company Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (Pdvsa) and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrovietnam) to set up a joint venture to develop the reserves of the Junín 2 Block of the Orinoco Oil Belt, with a potential of 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, EFE reported.

Among the agreements reached, the most important was the signing by the companies Corpivensa (Venezuela) and Vienamotor (Vietnam) of an incorporation agreement of a joint venture called Fábrica Vietnam-Venezuela de Camiones Ligeros de Venezuela, C.A. (Vivencal) to manufacture light trucks.