EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is in the Middle East seeking support for his idea of a new oil-backed currency to challenge the U.S. dollar.

-Chavez says he plans to outline his proposed "petro-currency" during a summit of leaders from South American and the Arab League in Qatar. Chavez has long criticized the dominance of the dollar and plans Tuesday to seek Arab backing for a new currency backed by the resources of major oil producing countries, such as Venezuela and other OPEC members.

-Key oil-producing members of the Arab League, such as Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, have close ties to Washington and will almost certainly reject any plan to shun the dollar. But the summit kicks off another high-profile foreign trip for Chavez in his efforts to build economic and diplomatic links to confront the United States.

-It's highly unlikely Chavez will gain any serious momentum for his "petro-currency" proposal at a summit of South American and Arab League leaders, but it represented another attempt to undercut the dollar's standing as the world's leading commercial currency.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/31/petrocurrency-chavez-seek_n_181136.html

How do you feel about this, as unfriendly oil exporting countries such as Venezuela are challening the dominance of the dollar with a new currency? Is this a good thing we do have such good ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab gulf nations?