Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised his country’s close relations with Belarus. There is no limit to our integration! Chavez said, at a televised meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Chavez and a Venezuelan delegation arrived in Belarus on September 8 for a two-day working visit. Chavez and Lukashenko last year announced an oil and gas joint venture with Belarusian technicians to develop Venezuelan fields. The company, with Belarus’ Belarusneft and Venezuela’s Petroler BeloVenesolana participating as equal partners, is profitable and already has brought more than one million tons of crude oil to market since its founding, Lukashenko said. The joint venture is also performing seismic logging work, as well as production, he said. Areas of high potential economic cooperation between the two countries include Belarusian export of chemicals and construction materials, as well as automotive, high-tech, and farm machinery, Lukasheko said. Chavez on September 9 toured a Minsk auto factory, and a lorry plant. We are very obliged to the Venezuelan people and their government, Lukashenko said. We thank them for their assistance, including financial aid. Chavez has visited Belarus annually since 2006. The most controversial trade deal between the two countries came in 2008, when Chavez purchased Belarusian night-vision devices for Venezuela’s military. Venezuela has in recent years become one of Belarus’ most important trading partners, with Venezuelan imports of Belarusian good almost doubling from 2008 to 2009. Belarusian imports from Venezuela are negligible.