Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, and expressed his solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic in this "challenging period."

"Just had a long conversation with the distinguished foreign minister of Venezuela," Gonsalves said on Wednesday. "We covered a lot of bilateral and multilateral relations.

"As always Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is in strong solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, its people, its government, and we are in a challenging period globally, and in the hemisphere, we have to think strategically, we have to keep in solidarity with one another, to work out our problems."

Arreaza has been traveling through the Caribbean this week, seeking to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation. After Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, he will meet with Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda, then Prime Minister Allen Chastanet of Saint Lucia.