The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guyana, the Honourable Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and the People’s Minister for Foreign Relations of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela met in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday October 17, 2013 on the instructions of their Presidents with the aim of advancing the bilateral political dialogue in light of the recent event.
The Ministers expressed their satisfaction over the excellent relations which have developed between the two nations under the Presidency of Donald Ramotar and Nicolas Maduro Moros. In this regard, they reiterated that dialogue and cooperation are the means for a peaceful solution of differences between States.
The Ministers ratified all the points of the Joint Declaration of September 30, 2011 in Port of Spain, signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guyana Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and the then Minister of the People’s Power for External Relations of the Bolivarian Republic, Nicolas Maduro Moros, where they recognised that the delimitation of the maritime boundaries between their two States remains an outstanding issue and agreed that such delimitation will require negotiations. In this regard, Ministers Rodrigues-Birkett and Jaua agreed to explore mechanisms within the context of international law to address the issue of maritime delimitation. To this end, they agreed that a technical team would meet within four months to exchange views on how such delimitation could proceed.
Finally both Ministers expressed their appreciation for the hospitality of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago in facilitating this meeting.
Port of Spain
October 17, 2013
