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GV Surinam Prime Minister henck Arron and party walking along corridor and being greeted by President Perez (2 shots)
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GV Mr. Arron and party sit down, interpreter sits between President Perez and Mr. Arron (2 shots)
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GV PAN EXT Miraflores Palace
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CU INTERIOR PULL BACK TO GV Mr. Arron at news conference
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, the Prime Minister of Surinam, Henck Arron met President Perez on Wednesday (28 June) at the start of a five day visit. Mr. Arron's arrival in Venezuela marked the acceptance of Surinam into the Latin American Economic System (SELA), an association of South American states.

SYNOPSIS: Mr. Arron met President Perez in the Milaflores Palace after signing the formal document of membership of SELA, at the group's Permanent Secretariat in Caracas. Surinam, formerly Dutch Guyana, gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975. Surinam becomes the 26th member of SELA, which was formed by South and Central American countries in Panama in 1975, to provide a system of consultation and co-operation on economic and social matters. Mr. Arron and President Perez discussed the implications of Surinam's entry into SELA.

In his address to the SELA secretariat, Mr. Arran said Surinam was keen to join the association because closer relations between member nations could provide more than just financial or diplomatic support. He said Surinam wanted to be integrated into a powerful structure of united countries, capable of reducing the degree of dependence on developed nations and of representing the interests of the region as a whole. After his meeting with the Venezuelan President, Mr. Arron said his visit signified closer ties between Surinam and Venezuela as well as his country's membership of SELA. In a news conference Mr. Arron said he had discussed with President Perez the development of greater co-operation between their countries on economic, political and cultural matters. During his visit, Mr. Arron also met the Venezuelan Foreign Minister and the Secretary of SELA, Mr. Jaime Moncayo.