GUYANA, Brazil sign treaties on civil, criminal matters

GEORGETOWN,  Guyana, May 7, 2022 - Guyana and Brazil on Friday signed two treaties to develop areas of cooperation between the neighbouring states, during the one-day visit to Guyana by the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonoro.

The Brazilian leader arrived in Guyana earlier Friday on an official one-day visit, in response to an invitation from President Ali. The first agreement signed on international legal cooperation in civil matters, will see the two states providing full legal cooperation in areas such as civil and administrative law, as well as criminal sentences that seek compensation for damages in the civil court.

The other treaty strengthens mutual cooperation in criminal matters which will see the two Governments providing assistance to each other in connection with the investigation or prosecution of criminal offenses including the restraint, seizure, or confiscation, along with the disposal and the return of assets.

The Ministries responsible for public security and justice in Guyana and Brazil will spearhead the treaties.

President Irfaan Ali said today was a good day as the two sides were able to further elaborate on areas of focus for the future of both nations.

“We have the opportunity to further elaborate and concretized an action plan moving forward in four areas. Food and Security, not only from a Guyana Brazilian perspective but a CARICOM perspective; the issue of energy and energy security; infrastructure and the integration of infrastructure; Security, National Security and Defense and Trade Arrangements”  

Plans are also in the pipeline to advance the process of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November 2020, for the technical feasibility studies for the installation of a fiber optic link between the two neighbouring states.

In terms of infrastructure development, the focus will be on the integrated project that involves the deep-water port, the road rail link, and fiber optic connectivity, President Ali reiterated. Additionally, the countries’ leaders agreed to pursue greater collaboration in agriculture and food security, through the sharing of information and best practices. The bigger aim, President Ali stressed, is to advance Caricom agri-food system, ensuring food security in the region.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonoro said Guyana and Brazil share mutual areas of interest but he is pleased that Guyana seems set to move many of the agreements forward.

Before the signing ceremony, the two Presidents, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro and their respective delegations held wide ranging discussions on a number of bilateral, regional and global issues. President Ali said the engagement is part of ongoing talks between the two nations that will advance several plans for the future.

The values shared by the two countries, including the respect for democracy and the rule of law, the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, were highlighted during the discourse. The two state leaders intend to intensify engagement and collaboration with immediate focus on establishing a bilateral working group responsible for assessing the potential gains of a Bao Vista to Georgetown corridor, advancing trade and investment flows. They had also instructed their teams to enable the full implementation of the Guyana-Brazil International Road Transportation Agreement, no later than the third quarter of this year.

“Our visit here has been very promising to our country and our people. Guyana has a bright and promising future, especially given its oil and gas potential and also how your Government has fostered closer and closer ties with Brazil. We stand as partners and I’m quite certain fruits will be reaped as a result of this visit”, President Bolsonoro said.

President Irfaan Ali also said the Guyana Government will be moving swiftly to establish working groups to address the agreements reached.

“My work style as the President of Guyana is very similar to his own style; we want to be objective and straight forward and we are going to establish a working group properly so that solution can be able to surface.”

The Brazilian President has indicated that he will push the Brazilian private sector to develop closer trading ties with Guyana.  He has also promised to further strengthen the cooperation and ties between the two countries.