Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment Robert Persaud and his Suriname counterpart Minister of Natural Resources Jim Hok have agreed that opportunities abound in strengthening cooperation ties in mining and the sustainable development of the natural resources sector.
According to a joint statement, this is one of the key matters the ministers discussed during a recent meeting in Suriname.
The meeting was convened stemming from a mandate given by Suriname President Desi Bouterse and President Donald Ramotar.
According to the statement, Persaud and Hok agreed to a meeting between experts from the mining sector in Suriname and Guyana to be be convened at the earliest mutually convenient date to discuss in greater detail the areas of mutual interest in the mining sector. In this context, they mandated that the experts would prepare an executable plan for cooperation in the sector for the mutual benefit of both countries.
They agreed that there was mutual interest for Suriname and Guyana to work more closely together in the natural resources area and noted that there is much potential for cooperation, ranging from knowledge and information sharing to joint educational and training programmes for the small scale mining industry in both countries and in the development of oil and gas exploration and exploitation sectors.
The ministers also exchanged views on the illicit trade in mineral resources from Guyana, especially those sourced from small-scale mining operations, the release said.
Both Persaud and Hok were pleased with the spirit in which the meeting was held and expressed confidence that both countries will reap tremendous benefit from cooperating in the field of mining and generally natural resources development and exploitation, the statement noted.
