THE National Assembly yesterday approved a motion calling for the endorsement of the conclusion and entry into force of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Cooperation Treaty between Guyana and Barbados.
In presenting the motion to the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Dr. Rudy Insanally said the conclusion of the EEZ Cooperation treaty is fully in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea which allows states, in a spirit of understanding and cooperation to enter into provisional arrangements of a practical nature while the complex technical, legal and political dimensions of delimitation are addressed. He added that provisional arrangements do not prejudice the final delimitation agreement.
'While the treaty does not delimit the maritime boundary between Guyana and Barbados, it serves, simply, to indicate to the international community that Guyana and Barbados do share a maritime boundary, a fact which the Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela maritime treaty of 1990 seems to seek to deny. It is the view of both Guyana and Barbados, after studying the extent of this Treaty, that it encroaches on our maritime rights," Dr. Insanally contended.
Consequently, he said Guyana has protested this encroachment to both Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela, as well as to the Secretary General of the UN, who is the depository of the Law of the Sea Treaty to protect and preserve Guyana's entitlement.
The Treaty between Guyana and Barbados provides for a cooperation zone which will enable both countries to exercise jurisdiction, control, management, development and exploitation of the living and non-living resources within the area of overlap of their EEZ.