Guyana, Suriname presidents discuss use of Corentyne River, fisheries

Last Updated on Friday, 15 May 2026, 16:50 by Writer

Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and Suriname’s President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons on Friday met virtually to discuss access to the Corentyne River and the fisheries sector among other issues.

While Dr Ali provided no details about the discussions in his Facebook post, Dr Geerlings-Simons provided more details about the talks.

“We have discussed further strengthening of socio-economic cooperation between Suriname and Guyana, including cooperation in the field of oil and gas, the fisheries issue and the passage on the Corantijn (Corentyne) River,” she said on her Facebook post.

But in a separate post, the Office of the President said on its Facebook page that the two leaders also addressed the Corentyne River Bridge.

The office said Dr Ali and Dr Geerlings-Simons said they committed to working within a three‑month framework to finalise many of those matters, with the aim of deepening economic cooperation, expanding trade, and further integrating the two countries’ economies.

Georgetown and Paramaribo are at odds over the Suriname government’s decision to charge hefty fees of as much as US$1,500 per tonne for Guyanese cargo vessels to move quarry and forest products from concessions in Guyana to its side of the Corentyne River.

As part of a proposed solution, Guyana prefers Suriname to go back to the system some time ago when it had charged a flat fee of US$75 for vessels plying that bordering waterway.

In turn, Suriname is asking Guyana to submit a formal request for exemption of certain vessels.

The Surinamese leader said she and the President of Guyana agreed to meet again within the Suriname-Guyana Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation Platform (SDCP) on short notice.

Dr Geerlings-Simons added that she and the President of Guyana would actively involve the private sector in  furthering the cooperation journeys.

Previous Surinamese governments were yet to resolve the issue of Guyanese fishing in Surinamese waters.

The then Chandrikapersad Santokhi-led government had promised to award fishing licences to Guyanese fisherfolk through a special mechanism but nothing happened up last year when he was voted out of office.

The Surinamese leader described her talks with Dr Ali as “constructive and friendly” and he said he was “delighted today to speak to my friend and our neighbour” on “various opportunities and challenges ahead of us.”

“I was pleased at our shared commitment in deepening our partnership and friendship to ensure further economic, cooperation, expansion of trade, and integration our economies,” he also said in his Facebook post.

The President of Suriname said the ministers of public works of both countries would cooperate on the water problem and infrastructural measures at the technical level.

That was against the background of the presidents’ discussion about the effects of climate change and the increasing flooding that Guyana and Suriname are facing.

During the past week, extremely heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in French Guiana, Suriname, and Guyana.

“We emphasized the importance of intensive cooperation to tackle these challenges together,” she said.

Accompanying President Ali at the talks were Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd.