President Ali reveals that Guyana and Brazil agree on actionable framework

President Irfaan Ali disclosed that Guyana and Brazil have agreed on an “actionable framework” in the areas of food security, energy, infrastructure and national security. The president made this disclosure after a meeting between Brazil’s President, His Excellency Jair Bolsonaro, members of his cabinet and the Guyana Government on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

It was noted that the one-day visit by the Brazilian President was a follow-up to a meeting held earlier this year between Presidents Ali, Bolsonaro and Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi in Paramaribo. “We had the opportunity today, to further elaborate and concretise an action plan moving forward in four areas,” Ali said.

The Guyanese Head of State disclosed that discussions also centred on ways to better collaborate in energy, energy security, national security and defence and infrastructure. “Those were the areas in which we had extensive discussions,” Ali said.

INFRASTRUCTURE

President Ali pointed out that in terms of infrastructure, the focus is on an integrated project that involves a deepwater port, the road-rail link, fibre optic connectivity, the development of an energy corridor, the creation of a free zone and the linkage of natural resource development to this project. “So we’re not only talking about the deepwater port in isolation of these things, it is now one integrated project that we are looking at, and we have agreed to establish a team that will comprise of investors, the Federal Government of Brazil, the Government of Guyana and the State of Roraima,” Ali explained.

Ali noted that emphasis will be placed on moving the project forward. Regarding the road link between Georgetown and Bonfim (Brazil), Ali said that systems are already in place to build the stretch between Linden and Mabura Hill, while the two countries will continue discussions on the remainder of the road (Mabura Hill to Lethem). The Guyanese Head of State revealed that the tdewo sides discussed working together on the natural gas strategy, the potential of hydro renewable energy and to examine this in a holistic frame in terms of energy production and oil and gas.

President Ali noted that the Governments also discussed security and defence hardware-software technology, which includes intelligence sharing, as a master plan to support the security architecture of both countries and their shared responsibilities and shared challenges.  He said they also looked “at ways in which we can deploy technology and a joint approach in securing our borders”.

AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

On the issue of agriculture and food security, Ali disclosed that Guyana and Brazil were looking to enhance their collaborations. He pointed out that the countries are expected to work out an aggressive plan for the expansion of their markets, the removal of barriers, deploying new technologies, the process flow, institutional arrangements, creating a hub for processing and transhipment of Agri-produce and products to the rest of CARICOM with Guyana becoming a hub. Ali stressed that Agriculture, is a major area that Guyana is pursuing. “All of this is linked intricately to our trade arrangements. So, we have been able to frankly discuss these issues and work out the mechanism through which all of these areas will advance,” Ali declared.

President Bolsonaro during his remarks described the discussions as being “fruitful and productive “. He noted that the talks were straightforward with both parties working “towards solutions”. The Brazilian Head of State expressed confidence that the engagements were promising for both countries and their futures.

SIGNED TREATIES

Along with the actionable framework, the two countries also signed treaties on International Legal Cooperation in Civil Matters and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters. Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Mark Phillips; Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo; Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh along with other members of the Cabinet were also at Friday’s meeting. The Brazilian delegation included several government ministers and members of the private sector.