The Guyana/Barbados Treaty for joint cooperation in the overlap of their Exclusive Economic Zones was inked by President Bharrat Jagdeo in London last year where he met with the Barbadian Prime Minister.
This is according to the official notice for the motion to conclude and enforce the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Treaty which will be moved in Parliament by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The notice says that the Treaty was signed on Decem-ber 2nd last year by President Jagdeo and Barbados' Prime Minister Owen Arthur in London.
The countries issued a joint statement on the signing of the Treaty on Tuesday, nearly three months after conclusion and indicated that they were in the final stages of ratification. Excluded from the statement were the details of the location of the signing ceremony and the names of the signatories for the two countries.
Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Harper had said that the announcement was delayed to ensure that the ratification processes were proceeding as they ought to.
Yesterday, Harper said that there was no subterfuge in the London signing only that it was a case of convenience for the two leaders. They were in London to meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference later that month in Nigeria.
The joint statement by Guyana and Barbados said the Treaty is the result of a decision by Guyana and Barbados to create a zone of joint jurisdiction for the area, where the 200-nautical mile EEZs of each country overlap. Both governments said too that no third country's legitimate rights are affected by the Treaty, which is in conformity with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The motion says that the two countries are convinced that an EEZ Cooperation Treaty is the best way to preserve their rights and interests over the resources in the area where there is the overlap.
The Treaty provides for the regulation of activities in the zone, including resource extraction from the waters and the seabed of the area by both countries, who have also committed themselves to environmentally-responsible resource management and sustainable development of living and nonliving natural resources in the zone.
The motion says the treaty will come into force 30 days after it is ratified and registered with the Secretaries General of the UN and CARICOM.
Tuesday's announcement came at a time when Barbados and Trinidad are at odds over fishing and maritime rights. Both countries have been trying to conclude a fishing agreement but talks were stymied by a 14-year-old Maritime Delimitation Agree-ment between Trinidad and Venezuela. The rift between the two countries was further widened when Barbados discovered that Trinidad had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for exploitation in the disputed area.
The National Assembly has not reconvened since December last year. (Andre Haynes)