But he declared that while "we open our arms in friendship" with the neighbour to the east, Guyana would not yield on the question of its sovereignty or its territorial integrity.

Insanally also made it clear at a news conference at his ministry in Georgetown that Guyana is taking a very firm stance on the New River Triangle issue and is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

This is in response to a note circulated by Suriname last week to diplomatic missions in that country which advised that published Suriname maps should include the New River Triangle - an area in the Upper Corentyne region of Guyana - as part of Suriname's territory.

The Guyana Foreign Minister, however, reiterated that the New River Triangle "is and has always been an integral part of Guyana's territory" and pointed out that this is so recognised by states within the international community, including member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

"Let me first say very clearly that Suriname is a very good neighbour and more than that, Suriname is a member of the CARICOM family of nations of countries and we are committed to turning every stone to ensure that our relations with Suriname are not only normal but that they are beneficial to both our countries," Insanally told reporters.

He also pointed out that both are developing countries badly in need of development and as such they ought to cooperate for common benefits.

"In that context it is unfortunate, I think, that at this time, Suriname has seen it fit to publicise its claim to the New River Triangle," the minister said.

He noted that Guyana has already communicated with "all the countries and the international organisations to which Suriname may have sent that (advisory) note".

"We really have to be very firm in our stance because while we open our arms in friendship with Suriname we cannot yield on the question of the sovereignty of our country and the territorial integrity of our country," Insanally declared.

He expressed optimism that Suriname would respond to Guyana's request to retract the note and that it will desist from doing such things again in the future.

He, however, indicated that "the window of dialogue remains open", noting that the Joint Border Commissions had already met on the issue.

According to him, the meetings dealt with some of the issues "frontally and we thought that is the most appropriate forum to deal with issues of this sort and it is a pity that we did not stick to that mechanism".

"We hope that the climate in both countries would remain very favourable to a dialogue, because we want to have a dialogue with Suriname and to have - any issues, all of the issues - settled very amicably in the interest of the CARICOM family".

"Guyana and the ministry would have a lot of responsibility to at least protect our interests in these matters...so we will have to review the situation as it develops," he added.

On the issue of CARIFESTA (Caribbean Festival of Arts) to be hosted later this year by Suriname, Insanally said that as far as he knows, Guyana is committed to participating in the festival.

"But as I said, there are other considerations and we would hope that there are no circumstances that would cause us to have second thoughts about participating," he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Wednesday noting that the Guyana Government is particularly concerned that the action by Suriname could lead to a deterioration in the relations between the two countries and threaten the peace and stability of the region.

"In the interest of the maintenance of good neighbourly relations the Government of Guyana would like to urge the Government of the Republic of Suriname to desist from undertaking provocative actions that could undermine the efforts at improving the relations between the two countries," the Ministry said.

It said, too, that the Government of Guyana "views this ill advised action by the Republic of Suriname as having serious implications for the commitment which the Presidents of Guyana and Suriname made in January 2002 to enhance cooperation between their two countries."

Relations between the two countries chilled in June 2000 after the Suriname military forced the Canadian CGX Energy Inc. oil company to abandon drilling in a concession offshore Guyana.