Venezuelan president thanks Russia and China for help in restructuring economy

Nicolas Maduro

CARACAS, July 27. /TASS/: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has expressed gratitude to specialists from Russia, China, India and Turkey for assisting in developing and restructuring the Latin American country's economy.

"I thank for all the assistance provided to us by China, for advice from experts who help us implement our economic program. I thank Russian experts who maintain a dilaogue and consultations with us. I also thank experts from India, Turkey," Maduro said in a speech broadcast on Periscope.

He noted that Venezuela started to restructure its economy to remove dependence on oil revenues. "We had a deformed economic model, and it put us in a dependent position," he added.

Venezuela will not focus on developing agricultural and indutrial sectors, he said. "We will produce everything we need by ourselves," Maduro concluded.