PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo was yesterday accorded a red carpet welcome complete with a 21-gun salute when he touched down at the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport, Suriname at the start of a two-day State visit.

Arriving at about 11:15 hrs Guyana time, aboard the newly-commissioned Guyana Defence Force Y12 aircraft, Mr. Jagdeo was met on arrival by President Ronald Venetiaan.

Accompanying the President were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rudy Insanally; Director General at the Foreign Ministry, Ms. Elisabeth Harper; Mr. Brian James, Head of the Private Sector Commission (PSC); Mr. Newell Dennison, Political Advisor, Mr. Kellawan Lall and Mr. Keith George of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Guyana's Ambassador to Suriname, Mr. Karshanjee Arjun joined the Guyana delegation for the talks here.

Following the playing of the national anthems of both countries, President Jagdeo inspected a 100-member strong Guard of Honour complete with a Colour Party before being introduced to the Suriname delegation which included Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Marie Levens.

Leaving the airport located on the outskirts, President Jagdeo in the company of President Venetiaan journeyed to the Hotel Torarica where the two delegations met briefly in a closed door session.

President Jagdeo and his delegation then proceeded to the Anton de Kom University where he was met by President of the University's Board of Directors Mr. Gregory Rusland, before addressing a gathering of Members of the University's Board of Directors and academic staff, on how he sees universities across the region, more particularly those of Guyana and Suriname, playing an important role in national development.

He said that for too long there has been a disconnect between policy makers and academia, but such a situation where some of the best minds are not involved in the development process cannot work in small countries like Guyana and Suriname where there is a paucity of human resources and skills.

Noting that the reason can be two-fold, either the policy makers do not want them to be involved or that they themselves do not the see the urgency, President Jagdeo urged that they "get involved", even criticising whenever they see things going wrong.

Recalling his first visit in 1994 with the late President Cheddi Jagan and holding the position then of Minister of Finance, Mr. Jagdeo noted that much has changed since and in a way that affects people in the real sense, including globalisation.

He said while there are some scholastic definitions attached to globalisation, for policy makers it means either people going with or without food; for countries like Guyana and Suriname being trapped forever because of the digital divide or the marginalisation of peoples and greater hardships in the country. In addition, smaller countries are affected through their access to international financing from the multilateral and bilateral levels and having difficulty with their balance of payment, he noted.

He said countries like Guyana and Suriname will not survive unless they explore and find ways of using their resources, even if it means abandoning the sterile debates which they have become accustomed to.

Reiterating that the global market has changed, President Jagdeo said Guyana has chosen the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a regional response which in some instances is at times not adequate.

Suriname Minister of Education, Mr. Walter Sandriman who also spoke, gave an insight into Suriname's policy statement on education for 2002 and spoke of the activities undertaken by the university.

Following the meeting at the university, Mr. Jagdeo had a business session and lunch at the Krasnapolsky Hotel with members of the Suriname private sector.

After the meeting, Chairperson of the forum, Deputy Director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms. Eline Graamooqst said she was impressed with the way the private sectors in Guyana and Suriname deal with each other to the extent that they have arrived at consensus building, which both believe can only be achieved when they speak to each other.

Referring to President's Jagdeo's address, she said she understood him to say that there needs to be not only a national strategy for the development of the private sector, but overall for other sectors as well.

She said President Jagdeo's remarks on Guyana's experiences in relation to the global challenges were very inspiring, which showed that only through cooperation can the challenges be overcome. He, she added, reminded that both Guyana and Suriname are small countries and as such need to cooperate.

Graamoost said that having heard President Jagdeo's address, she was already considering having a group of Surinamese businessmen visit their Guyanese counterparts so that they can sit and discuss issues that are of mutual interest.

She said the advice by President Jagdeo was timely in that they in Suriname are at the crossroad in terms of development and the economic situation, and it has broadened the scope for discussions at a private sector conference to be held next month.

The private sector, she pointed out, is involved in several areas and is seeking to institutionalise the business forum so that issues brought forward by the forum are taken care of by the Government.

President Jagdeo was scheduled to hold a working meeting with members of the Suriname Cabinet yesterday afternoon and later in the evening attend a reception at the Presidential Palace.