August 31 ,2021
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Sunday said that a recent agreement between George-town and Paramaribo for Guyanese fishermen pertains to Suriname’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and not the Corentyne River as was stated in the Sunday Stabroek editorial of August 29 entitled `Fishing licences’.
“The Ministry wishes to state that the 150 licences are to permit Guyanese to fish in Suriname’s exclusive economic zone – that is off of its coast – and not for fishing in the Corentyne River.
“Having clarified that the premise of the entire editorial is incorrect, and not based on fact, there seems to be no need to correct the other statements and assertions that directly flow from that inaccuracy in the Editorial.
“The Ministry hopes that the editorial board of the Stabroek News will find it appropriate to acknowledge the efforts of the leaders of Guyana and Suriname to meet common ground on issues of day-to-day interest to their peoples now that it is known that a desire harboured by Guyanese fisherfolk for decades has official sanction”, the statement said..
The agreement was struck during the visit to Guyana earlier this month of Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi.