President Bharrat Jagdeo and his Surinamese counterpart Desi Bouterse on Monday agreed to push for cooperation in the mining and natural resources sectors, since the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources could advance economic development for both countries.
A joint communiqué issued after the two presidents met at Office of the President, said that “both leaders agreed that no effort should be spared in taking full advantage of the opportunities for technical cooperation between their two states.” It said that the leaders “noted that the symmetries in the path to economic and social development in Guyana and Suriname make such cooperation both advantageous and economical.”
According to the document, “special note was taken of the fact that both Guyana and Suriname are keen to advance the search for and exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in order to advance their economic development and aimed at meeting their respective energy needs.” Jagdeo and Bouterse “agreed that there is great potential for intensified cooperation” in addition to the sharing of knowledge and know-how in the fields of mining and other natural resources.
During the deliberations, the issue of climate change was addressed and President Jagdeo expounded on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and the role of the forestry and mining sectors in the strategy. The responses at the respective national levels and at the regional level to combat the problem were addressed and Jagdeo offered Guyana’s technical and expert support to Suriname in case President Bouterse was desirous of implementing a similar initiative.
Further, the critical importance of education to overall economic, social and cultural development was addressed and an agreement was made to pursue greater cooperation between the University of Guyana and Suriname’s Anton de Kom University. This would include teacher and student exchanges so as “to take full advantage of strengths that might be available in one or the other tertiary institutions and not fully developed in the other.”
Concerning crime, the communiqué said that “both presidents agreed that as neighbouring states, it is absolutely necessary for closer cooperation and coordination between the law enforcement agencies” of both countries. Both said that this is imperative if the “respective policies, strategies and programmes aimed at combating crime and threats to public security are to be successful,” the document said. The two presidents agreed to fully support the ongoing cooperation and consultations between the respective ministers responsible for public security.
Earlier this year Chandrikapersad Santokhi, the Justice and Security Minister in the previous administration met Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee here, at a bilateral meeting on crime and security. The meeting was an attempt by both countries to grapple with emerging crimes that transcend borders and affects its citizens.
At the opening ceremony of this meeting, Rohee said that the engagement was aimed at “thwarting would-be criminals from taking advantage of our separate jurisdictions, bringing to justice those engaged in cross-boundary criminal and other illegal enterprises and engendering a general atmosphere of peace and security in our two societies.”
