Guyana’s President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has arrived in Suriname for a state visit over the period November 23 to 26, during which time discussions will be held with President Chandrikapersad Santokhi to build on the issues advanced during the visit of President Santokhi to Guyana last August.
The two leaders are expected to finalise agreements to advance the proposal for the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge and establish a new mechanism for enhanced dialogue and cooperation, according to a statement from the Office of the President in Guyana.
The Republic of Suriname will celebrate the 45th Anniversary of its Independence on November 25. An Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly will be convened at which time President Ali will deliver a congratulatory message.
Mr. Ali will be accompanied on his first state visit to Suriname by a high-level delegation who will also be engaging in discussions in several other areas of cooperation. He said both nations share similar challenges, circumstances, and opportunities. “…as such, it is very critical and important for us to work together to find common solutions, to collaborate and to support each other in tackling the challenges while at the same time confront the opportunities for the people of both countries will benefit from.”
Suriname has been an onshore oil producer since the 1980’s. However, its first offshore discovery was made at the Maka Central-1 well in January 2020 and the second one at the Sapakara West-1 well in early April. The third discovery–Kwaskwasi-1 was made in July. To date, Guyana’s offshore discoveries have been estimated to be around 9 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources at the Stabroek block while Suriname’s resources at Block 58 where all of its discoveries have been made to date, are estimated to be about 6.5 billion barrels.
Formal diplomatic relations between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname were established on November 25, 1975.
