Today, President Dr. Irfaan Ali met with President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons of Suriname in Nieuw Nickerie.
The discussions focused on advancing economic partnerships and strengthening collaboration in the areas of energy, agriculture, and fisheries.
The two leaders also addressed the advancement of the construction of the Corentyne River Bridge.
Below is a Joint Statement detailing the meeting.
𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐆𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬- 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐃𝐫. 𝐌𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐢, 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚
𝐍𝐢𝐞𝐮𝐰 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞, 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞
𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
Her Excellency Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, President of the Republic of Suriname and His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana met on September 13, 2025, in Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname, to review the state of bilateral relations and to advance discussion on areas of mutual interest.
The two Heads of State reaffirmed the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that exist between Suriname and Guyana rooted in their shared values and aspirations, cultural ties, and geographic proximity. They expressed their mutual commitment to further deepen the bilateral partnership to promote peace, security, and prosperity for the peoples of both countries.
𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
The Heads of State expressed their willingness and interest to deepen economic cooperation to implement joint ventures in areas of mutual interest. With the focus on expanding trade, investment, and the improvement of the ease of doing business.
𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲
The Presidents acknowledged the strategic importance of energy security to national and regional development. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in the oil and gas sector, as well as in renewable energy and electricity interconnection. The two sides committed to exploring joint ventures, knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and investment opportunities that would advance their respective national energy agendas while contributing to regional energy resilience.
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐣𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭
With regards to the bridge between Suriname and Guyana, over the Corantijn (Corentyne) River the two Leaders recognized the timely advancement of the transformative potential for trade, tourism, connectivity, and people-to-people exchanges. They agreed to continue close coordination to address outstanding legal, technical and financial matters. They recognize that this bilateral initiative is also an integral part of the interconnectivity within the Amazon Region.
𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞- 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
The Presidents reiterated their unwavering commitment to the peaceful settlement of border matters through dialogue with full respect for international law. They agreed for the chairs of both commissions to meet as soon as possible and thereafter convene the 7th Meeting of the Suriname-Guyana Joint Border Commission before the end of 2025. Both Leaders underscored the importance of maintaining a spirit of good neighborliness in addressing all outstanding matters.
𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
The two Heads of State agreed to establish a joint commission comprising of the Ministers responsible for Fisheries, technical teams and relevant stakeholders before the end of 2025 to further advance cooperation in fisheries. As it relates to agriculture cooperation the Heads of State agreed to work closely within the framework of the Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation Platform (SDCP).
𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞
The Presidents emphasized the importance of the Canawaima Ferry Service to the well-being of border communities, the facilitation of bilateral trade and movement of people and goods. They agreed on the urgent need to review its operation with the aim of improving and strengthening the reliability and efficiency of the service.
Both Heads also confirmed their willingness to collaborate closer on the regional Ferry project to facilitate regional integration.
𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 (𝐒𝐃𝐂𝐏)
The Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation Platform (SDCP) as the principal mechanism for advancing the broad bilateral agenda of the two countries. They agreed to convene the next session of the SDCP within the shortest possible time and instructed Ministers of Foreign Affairs to follow up on all decisions and report on progress to the Heads of State.
𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintain the Region as a Zone of Peace through dialogue, diplomacy, peaceful resolution of conflicts in accordance with international law.
They also restated their support for all constructive efforts aimed at combatting transnational crimes.
The two Presidents reaffirmed their dedication to strengthening the bilateral partnership between Suriname and Guyana and to working together in the interest of their peoples and the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and South America.
The President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana expressed appreciation to the President of the Republic of Suriname for the warm hospitality extended to his delegation during the visit. Both leaders agreed to maintain regular high-level dialogue, and the engagement of the Foreign Ministers and technical teams of both sides at the earliest opportunity.
NIEUW NICKERIE
SEPTEMBER 13, 2025