He told a recent press conference that there have been some hiccups with the Commissions meeting to iron out pending border issues.

"Guyana's view is that no matter the difficulties, we should ensure the Commissions keep going because that is the only forum we have to try to settle some (of our) problems," Insanally said.

There are also other options for the peaceful means of solutions of disputes that Guyana is willing to look at in cooperation with its neighbour, he added.
The outstanding border issues relate to Suriname's claim of the New River Triangle, the maritime area and the Corentyne River.

Guyana and Suriname have been seeking modalities for joint exploitation and/or exploration of resources of overlap. The area of overlap refers to the zone offshore Guyana near the mouth of the Corentyne River, which separates the two countries.

The effort followed Suriname's eviction of the CGX Resources Incorporated oil rig from the Corentyne River in 2000. The rig was located within Guyana's maritime boundaries as stipulated in the 1977 Maritime Boundaries Act of Guyana.

Insanally said the sides have had differences on the format of a joint communiqué and he intends to discuss the matter with Surinamese representatives at the current special Summit of the Americas in Mexico. Insanally is representing Guyana at that meeting.

Recent negotiations did lead to cooperation on fisheries, which augurs well for other issues to be addressed by the Commissions. "We will be seeing if this year we can re-engage on some of the fronts," Insanally said.

The Minister stressed that Guyana believes it is important to maintain the Joint Commissions as these are the only instruments for dialogue and, "we should not let it disappear.

"Guyana will seek to take initiative to put it back on track," he added. (Nivedta Kowlessar)