THE differences and suspicions will not disappear overnight and Guyana and Suriname will have to continue to work hard at bridging the gap rooted in their colonial past that at times turns into a stumbling block.

But President Bharrat Jagdeo in meeting Suriname President Ronald Venetiaan in Paramaribo this week, seems to have consolidated the groundwork for closer ties set earlier this month by delegations led by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally and his Suriname counterpart Marie Levens, at meetings here and in the Suriname capital Paramaribo, created the foundation for the two presidents to build on and Mr. Jagdeo, in a speech at a special sitting of the Suriname National Assembly, called for "concrete measures for the achievement of the vision of cooperation and collaboration between our two States."

The message the Guyanese Head of State took to the neighbouring republic from the Guyanese people was "one of peace and cooperation."

"It is a call for us to join in a spirit of brotherhood and cooperation to advance the welfare of our citizens", he said.

Both countries are members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and their peoples have for years shared deep ties, often regarding the territorial border as an irritant against bringing them closer.

In this ever changing world, small countries like Guyana and Suriname cannot afford to dwell in the ways of the old - a point President Jagdeo stressed in his address to the Suriname National Assembly.

The imperatives dictate that neighbouring countries seek to overcome old barriers that have tended to dog their push for closer relations in the interest of their peoples.

They have enough in common to build mutually beneficial partnerships.

But as Mr. Jagdeo pointed out in Paramaribo Tuesday, while other States and neighbours have made "impressive and enviable progress in cooperation, we have recorded modest gains."

And the obstacles towards this have to be overcome.

His message to the Surinamese is worth repeating:

"Today, in every place, and in all spheres of human endeavour nations and peoples are abandoning old and historical conflicts. They are setting aside past differences and difficulties. They are retiring old grudges.

"People and nations are realising the futility of confrontation and consequently they are embracing co-operation. Consider that today former sworn enemies are now bosom friends conspiring to achieve their common objectives.

"Past ideological antagonists are now forging solid partnerships in the march toward prosperity for their people."

There are those though who, Mr. Jagdeo noted, "fear cooperation merely because they are set in old ways or harbour old suspicions" and for other reasons.

The important thing for both countries is to forge ahead towards closer ties and give cooperation and collaboration a chance to succeed.

The President has struck the right chord, we think, in an important visit to Guyana's neighbour to the east.