The Guyana/Suriname border commissions' meeting that was first scheduled for July is now unlikely to be held until early next year. The last meeting was held here in June and should have been reconvened the following month in Paramaribo, but it was postponed.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official confirmed to Stabroek News that Guyana remains committed to the process, because the border commissions' meetings represented an important mechanism for continuing the dialogue in the search for a solution to the maritime border dispute.

The official pointed out that while the Guyana government was committed to the bilateral mechanism, it had not foreclosed consideration of other options available to it.

A number of reasons have been given in the past for the meeting not being convened as scheduled. One was the failure of the two sides to agree on the minutes of the last meeting. Stabroek News understands that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is awaiting the comments of the Suriname commission on the draft submitted to it after the last meeting.

However, this newspaper was informed that the absence of the agreed minutes has not in the past prevented meetings of the commissions being held, as it had been the practice for the minutes to be agreed when the two sides convened in instances where there had been no prior accord.

At the June meeting, it was agreed that Guyana would supply information related to the licence granted to CGX. An official told this newspaper that certain information had been provided to Suriname. In the past the exchange of information had been the cause of delays in meetings being held.

Other factors cited previously for the postponement include delays occasioned by Suriname's hosting of Carifesta in August, and the subsequent protest from Suriname about the map of Guyana depicted on the T-shirts of the Guyanese contingent to the festival, which showed the internationally recognised borders of the two states. Following the festival, a Paramaribo newspaper quoted a Surinamese government official as saying that the border commissions' meetings would not be reconvened.

Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally told Stabroek News in September that he had discussed the issue with his Surinamese counterpart Marie Levens, and had impressed upon her that her government should use the forum of the border commissions' meeting to raise its concerns.

A few months ago, the Surinamese government had informed companies operating in Suriname that they should display maps of Suriname which showed the New River Triangle as part of Surinamese territory. As it had done earlier, Stabroek News understands that the Guyana government had protested to Suriname about its unilateral action in trying to redraw this country's internationally recognised and accepted boundaries.

The border commissions' meetings were reactivated last year following President Bharrat Jagdeo's visit to Suriname with the mandate of setting in motion the resolution of the maritime and territorial border disputes. They were asked, among other things, to look at best practices for joint exploration of the marine and hydrocarbon resources in the disputed area located off the Corentyne Coast.

A technical working committee was set up and submitted recommendations to the border commissions on the best practices from other parts of the world for its consideration. These recommendations have been on the agenda of the meetings of the border commissions for at least the past three meetings.

The proposal for joint exploration was raised again by Guyana in the aftermath of Suriname's ejection of an oil rig working for the Canadian company CGX Resources, which had been licensed to explore for oil off the Corentyne coast, from its drilling position in Guyana territorial waters on June 3, 2000.

In an interview earlier this year Insanally told Stabroek News that getting Suriname to agree to the return of the CGX oil rig to the drilling position from which it had been ejected in June 2000 was not a simple issue, although the rig's return could be facilitated by the Guyana/Suriname border commissions being able to resolve the issue of joint exploration of the marine and hydrocarbon resources of the disputed maritime area.