China and Venezuela signed on Thursday an agreement to cooperate in the rehabilitation of Venezuela's railway system. 

The Complementary Accord of the Economic and Technical Agreement for the Rehabilitation of the Midwestern Railway System was signed in Caracas by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Roy Chaderton, and Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Ju Yijie.

Chaderton described the National Railway System as a "civilized, liberating instrument that allows meetings between Venezuelan citizens, facilitates our communications and lowers the transportation cost, cheapens the services and contributes to the unification of the country."

The Chinese ambassador said the accord was the beginning of other new agreements between the two countries.

The governments of China and Venezuela are working on plans to build an aqueduct in the state of Falcon, rehabilitate gold mines and undertake other projects in regions of the South American country, Ju said.

The agreement signed Thursday provides for the participation of the Chinese government in the rehabilitation of the railway system through a two-year project including work on repair, maintenance and modernization.

The plan of the national railway system worked out by the Venezuelan government includes a 4,000 km network to be built over 20 years, and several sub-systems planned to meet the needs of economic, political and social activities. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2004)