Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, has reminded that the New River Triangle remains an integral and indivisible part of the territory of Guyana, and he believes that Guyanese, especially those of us who hold positions of leadership and influence in this country, should know the limits of Guyana’s territory with certainty and conviction.

Mr. Persaud’s statement, which was released on social media, followed revelation that at a recent forum that Guyanese businesses and some Government offices attended in Suriname, a map of Suriname was used that included part of Guyana’s territory.

The Foreign Secretary said Guyana has always enjoyed continuous occupation of its internationally recognized and legally established territory, and the New River Triangle has never been recognized nor administered as Surinamese territory and the appendage of a portion of Guyana’s territory to the map of Suriname neither creates nor establishes any legal rights to it.

He explained that the current mandate of the Joint Border Commission of Guyana and Suriname is to examine the historical records relating to the unresolved border issues between the two countries and make recommendations to the Foreign Ministers about how these issues may be resolved. The Commission does not have a mandate to revisit the established boundary.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a separate statement said the presence of Government of Guyana representatives at the conference in no way signifies the condoning by the Government of the use of a map that incorrectly represents the territory of Guyana.

A number of Government officials and Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname were all present at the event, and did not make any objections to the use of the incorrect map.

Opposition MP Amanza Walton-Desir expected a much stronger response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement today, Walton-Desir said “there clearly is need for the Ministry of Foreign affairs to establish a robust standard operating protocol which will ensure that any occurrence of territorial misrepresentation of Guyana is met with immediate formal protest both at the level of the organisers, in this case, the International Business Conference as well as at the diplomatic level.”

The Suriname-Guyana Chamber of Commerce hosted the event in Suriname.

In response to criticism that the body did not object to the use of the incorrect map incorporating parts of Guyana’s territory on a map of Suriname, the Chamber said the image in question was not part of any of its materials or proposal. It explained that the referenced map was included in a PowerPoint presentation by an invited conference speaker.

The Suriname Guyana Chamber of Commerce said as the host of the International Business Conference, its role was exclusively focused on fostering economic collaboration between Guyana and Suriname, promoting trade, investment, and private-sector partnerships.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry added its voice to the fall out today.

In a statement, the Chamber said it is deeply concerned by the use of the images with the map of Suriname incorporating the New River triangle.

It said silence in the face of this threat to Guyana’s sovereignty is viewed as an endorsement of same, which the Chamber views as inexcusable.

The GCCI now calls on fellow Business Support Organisations and other agencies that acted as supporting actors to the conference to reject these actions and refrain from supporting and justifying any activity that violates Guyana’s national boundaries.

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