Guyana and the Dominican Republic have committed to expand their cooperation, particularly in the areas of energy, agriculture, tourism, trade, information and communication technology (ICT), infrastructure, and industry.
Following talks between President Irfaan Ali and his visiting counterpart, Luis Abinader, a joint communique was issued, noting that the two leaders had engaged in discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
They hailed the establishment of a Dominican Republic Embassy in Georgetown and the accreditation of the resident Ambassador, Ernesto Torres Pereyra, as “a tangible step in relations that will augur well for enhanced cooperation and facilitate opportunities for further engagement in the advancement of Guyana and the Dominican Republic’s bilateral agenda.”
According to the statement, President Ali welcomed the Dominican Republic’s commercial sector’s great interest in Guyana.
“Both Presidents recognized the significant contribution that the two countries’ private sectors could make to advancing this agenda and encouraged increased collaboration and partnership between businesses in Guyana and the Dominican Republic, including increased investments by companies from both countries.”
“In this regard, they looked forward to Skycana’s early start of commercial flights, which would allow for increased tourism and greater ease of travel in and out of Guyana.”
The two leaders also discussed “issues of mutual interest and concern on the regional, hemispheric, and multilateral agendas, and undertook to strengthen their resolve to collectively work on advocating in the interest of Small Island Developing States to address challenges such as food security, energy security, and the impact of climate change,” according to the statement.
“They expressed concerns about the significant risks posed by sargassum to their economies and agreed to collaborate to find solutions to mitigate the impact,” the statement said, adding that “they reaffirmed the rule of law, protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect for democracy, promotion of human rights, and sustainable development of their countries as paramount pillars for the maintenance of peace and security in the region.”
The two leaders acknowledged each other’s post-Covid economic recovery efforts and emphasized the importance of sustained international involvement and advocacy for an enabling environment to assist their nations’ sustainable growth.
In discussing Haiti’s political condition, the two chiefs of state “agreed that Haiti is an important member of the Caribbean family of nations.”
“As a result, they welcomed the formation of the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group on Haiti, which will be supported by a technical team.” They committed their governments’ complete assistance for achieving political stability in Haiti.”
The two leaders also saw the signing of three bilateral agreements, including a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on political consultation, an aviation services agreement, and an MOU on energy cooperation, according to the statement.
“Furthermore, the two Presidents agreed to form a high-level working group to advance and monitor the various areas of cooperation identified.” President Ali has agreed to pay a reciprocal visit to the Dominican Republic by the end of June 2023, according to the joint statement.
