Lima, May 8 (RHC) -- Venezuela is one of the countries that have reduced inequality the most in Latin America, said Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In brief statements to reporters during a recess of ECLAC's 35th period of sessions held in the Peruvian capital, Lima, the official praised the relentless efforts by the Caracas government to tackle poverty and inequality, in a region often characterized as the most unequal in the world, despite its vast economic resources.

"Venezuela has reduced the levels of poverty and inequality significantly", she expressed, adding that the government's social investment programs, the so-called misiones, should be regarded as paradigms of social development.

She highlighted Venezuela's wide-ranging cooperation with other nations, particularly the successful Petrocaribe energy cooperation mechanism with Caribbean countries.

She also stated that “we should destroy the myth that this nation has invested way more in other countries than in its own” and said that costs and benefits should be measured to disprove this belief.

Meanwhile, Bárcena welcomed an upcoming meeting on regional cooperation mechanisms in Latin America, summoned by Venezuela, and confirmed ECLAC's attendance.