Guyana inks two agreements with Suriname in areas of agriculture, healthcare

As the curtains come down on an official four-day visit of Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi to Guyana, two agreements were signed between the neighbouring states on Thursday.

The first agreement signed between Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and Suriname’s Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Parmanand Sewdien allows for the trading of fresh agricultural produce.

The protocols for this cooperation were finalised during this visit and placed into an agreement which was signed to ensure that international standards for the trading of agricultural produce are met.

The terms and conditions relate only to commercial shipment of agriculture produce and it provides guidelines for the conditions under which the produce to be traded should be stored, packaged and transported to each country.

Guyana and Suriname have also agreed on a model of collaboration to get its produce into North American and European markets, Dr. Ali said on Thursday.

The second agreement between the Ministries of Health in both countries were signed between Guyana’s Minister of Health and Acting Minister of Foreign Affiars Dr. Frank Anthony and his Surinamese counterpart Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation.

The agreement is for the establishment of services in the field of healthcare between the two ministries of health and outlines the terms and conditions under which both ministries will cooperate.

The two sides have also agreed to coordinate their efforts in the fight against COVID-19 to allow for cross border diagnostics, contact tracing and COVID awareness.

The two sides will also share their unique experiences in COVID vaccination.