By Marianna Parraga and Vivian Sequera
Sept 21 (Reuters) – A Venezuelan delegation led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez that is taking part in the United Nations General Assembly this week began discussing energy, debt and mining issues with counterparties in the US on Monday, officials and sources said.
The talks are expected to lead to the signing of agreements as part of US President Donald Trump’s plans to rebuild Venezuela’s key industries, according to the sources.
Rodriguez arrived in New York early on Monday with her team. It was her first trip to the US after taking office as Venezuela’s interim president in January under Washington’s oversight, following the capture of then President Nicolas Maduro by US forces.
The top US diplomat in Venezuela, John Barrett, received her at the airport, Venezuela’s state TV said.
One of her first meetings was with Inter American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn. She later met International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and World Bank President Ajay Banga, in separate meetings, according to state TV and sources.
“Her visit will have a big focus on debt restructuring, funds and payments,” one of the sources said.
Venezuela announced in May it would begin restructuring its sovereign debt and that of state oil company PDVSA, estimated by most analysts at between $150 billion and $200 billion.
Last month, legal and financial advisers launched a committee to bring together companies with outstanding claims against Venezuela ahead of the planned restructuring. The initiative aims to coordinate creditors’ participation in the process and secure representation for them in negotiations with Caracas.
The IDB is drawing up a two-year engagement plan for Venezuela focused partly on electricity and social protection, Goldfajn told Reuters. The effort includes missions to examine the nation’s macroeconomic framework and data and to estimate investment needs across different sectors.
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS
Rodriguez is scheduled to meet with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres late in the afternoon, according to his agenda.
Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia met UK officials later, state TV images showed, without providing details.
“We discussed progress towards a democratic transition and human rights, as well as recovery and reconstruction following this year’s earthquakes,” said Chris Elmore, UK minister for the Americas.
Venezuelan ministers and top officials advanced in negotiations for months ahead of Rodriguez’s trip to New York, where she is scheduled to meet Trump on Tuesday.
The planned meeting between Trump and Rodriguez — who was Venezuela’s vice president under Maduro — will take place on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the US President, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said during a recent press briefing call.
Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs and Information ministries did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Some Venezuela-owned buildings in New York that had been shut for years, including a consulate and the office of the country’s UN mission, have recently been renovated for their reopening, according to media reports. The meeting between Rodriguez and IDB officials, where oil minister Paula Henao also was present, was at the UN mission’s building.
Henao, Mining Minister Hector Silva and top officials from state oil company PDVSA participated this month in a G20 energy conference in Houston, where a memorandum of understanding was inked with US oil producer Continental Resources for an area in Venezuela’s main output region, the Orinoco Belt. A separate contract was also signed granting US investment firm Heeney Capital operational and export rights for a gold mine.
Another preliminary agreement has been in negotiation for months with US energy major ExxonMobil, which could ultimately lead to its return to Venezuela’s oilfields, sources said this month.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Vivian Sequera and Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Anthony Esposito and David Gregorio)
Comments