UNJournal Jon Lee | 

(New Year Message)
Dear readers of the Diplomacy Journal,

At the beginning of my duties at the Venezuelan Embassy in Seoul, in September 2023, the Diplomacy Journal was one of my first windows to learn about the dynamics of diplomacy in the Republic of Korea, important reason to thank you for this opportunity given to send a message about my country, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and our wishes for a great year ahead of us 2024.

I come from a country that is almost 15 thousand kilometers of distance from Seoul, with thons of optimism to take advantage of this physical distance and work in an agenda of proximity in communication, collaboration, and mutual recognition of our coincidences and divergences, and together advance in the diversification of our relations, bilateral and multilateral, in a harmonious exchange of ideas for a more just, egalitarian world in benefits of our countries, and to contribute with the edification of a multicentric and pluripolar balance of powers to preserve the humankind and the resources that allow the life in this planet.

As you well know, the formal name of my country came from the ‘Bolivarian Doctrine’ adopted in the Constitution of 1999, which refers to the legacy of our national hero, Simon Bolivar. In Venezuela, we have experienced, since then, 24 years of a type of democracy that was established in our Constitution: the participatory democracy and what is known as the popular power that resides in the people of Venezuela. 

Next year 2024, we will have presidential elections, the same year many countries will have presidential elections too. During this constitutional period, known as the 5th Republic, the people of Venezuela have demonstrated their independent and sovereign character and its pride in these democratic values. 

Besides the elections, the country is experiencing a rebirth from the difficulties we had. Our economy is growing and diversifying from the traditional sector, and to secure this path, the country has built five (5) national consensuses that aim at peace and the prosperity of our Nation.

The first consists of consolidating a new economic model and continuing along the path of work, national effort, recovery, growth, and economic diversification with the support of the three fundamental pillars: the private sector, the public sector, and the workers. Secondly, there is a national consensus on the idea of absolutely condemning the illegal and criminal sanctions against Venezuela and its affectation on the human rights of our people. 

The third of the consensuses is to defend peace, coexistence, tolerance, and dialogue among Venezuelans, as well as reject hatred and violence. The fourth consensus of the entire country is the need to recover the social welfare state and to recover all the social rights of the people of Venezuela, which has recently suffered injuries from illegal economic sanctions and attacks on our economy and our international goods. The fifth consensus refers to Venezuela's territorial controversy with Guyana over the territory of the Guayana Esequiba and the process under the Geneva Agreement. 

These are the consensuses built by our President Nicolas Maduro Moros, which unite us as a Nation, and point out the direction for a new era, in which I see there is more convergence than divergence in the interest of working together to diminish the instability in supply chains and work for the economic security.