Guyana, Suriname border commissions meet postponed
Stabroek News
May 17, 2002
The meeting of the Guyana and Suriname border commissions will not take place this month as was agreed during President Bharrat Jagdeo's visit to Suriname in January.
During that visit, President Jagdeo and his host, President Ronald Venetiaan agreed that before the border commissions met, a sub-committee would meet to look at best practices and modalities that could assist the governments in taking a decision about eventual joint exploration of the marine resources in the maritime area they both claim.
This meeting is crucial in the light of the impasse over Suriname's military eviction of an oil exploration rig from Guyana's waters in June 2000.
A Government Information Agency release yesterday said that the "proposed meeting of the sub-committee was postponed indefinitely at the request of the Government of Suriname."
However, the release said, "The two countries are in the meanwhile working on cooperation in the areas of mining, joint ventures in the private sectors of both countries, trade promotion, health (especially in the area of HIV/AIDS) culture and education.
A high level meeting of customs officials of the two countries was recently held in Paramaribo under the aegis of the Cooperation Council."
The release said that no date was yet set for President Venetiaan to visit Guyana, an invitation he accepted during President Jagdeo's visit. However, it said that he would be in Guyana for the annual July Summit of the CARICOM Heads of Government.