Top Government officials had successful meetings, interactions with Guyanese diaspora
PRIME Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister Maniram Prashad, Minister Bheri Ramsaran along with Minister Frank Anthony and Member of Parliament Neil Kumar were at a highly successful dinner and massive day of sport with the Guyanese diaspora in Suriname.

Eminent Guyanese and Surinamese business persons reportedly attended the impressive dinner. His Excellency Suriname Vice President Robert Ameerali and Mrs. Ameerali shared the Head Table together with the President of the PPP Support Group in Suriname.

Prime Minister Hinds spoke at length about the excellent relationship between the people of Suriname and Guyana.  Guyana’s Prime Minister also emphasized that the two Caricom countries must continue to work together for greater togetherness between our peoples.

Minister Maniram Prashad spoke about the two countries’ business interests and working together.  Minister Prashad invited Guyanese living in Suriname, and Surinamese alike, to visit the Guyana Trade Exposition (GuyExpo) which is scheduled for September 29-October 2, 2011.

Minister Prashad stressed the importance of this year’s GuyExpo event and said he was looking forward to seeing hundreds of Guyanese from the Diaspora and particularly our business friends from Suriname.   Special arrangements will be put in place for quick and hospitable immigration and security.

Minister Frank Anthony was also in Suriname as a guest of the Surinamese Government.  The same weekend, the three Guianas were celebrating the inaugural Inter-Guiana Cultural Festival. There was an impressive opening ceremony at the Theatre Thalia where Minister Anthony delivered a powerful speech.  He called on the three Guianas to develop strong cultural relationships and alluded to the successful Inter-Guiana Games that are held annually.  

The success of the Games prompted Guyana to suggest to the other Guianas a similar ‘annual event’ in the area of culture.  The inaugural Inter Guiana Cultural Festival was a huge success with over 200 Guyanese travelling to Suriname for the three-day celebration.

Minister Anthony, at the dinner sponsored by the PPP Suriname Support Group, called on the organizers to promote more such activities so that our two peoples could live, work and enjoy a great life with respect and brotherhood.

After the well-received speeches and sumptuous dinner, the hundreds of participants mingled with the Guyanese Prime Minister and the visiting Government ministers as they continued their discussions and pledged their unflinching support for each other.

At the dinner there were many prominent business personalities from Suriname who were eager to have free and frank discussions about joint business ventures. The cordial discussions went on after midnight and continued the next day as Prime Minister Hinds visited the Mining Laboratory owned by Mr. Henk Naarendor. Other ministers held several bi-laterals while in Suriname.

On Sunday, August 28, the Snellen Park in Paramaribo was the venue of a number of activities as the Prime Minster and Ministers Anthony and  Ramsarran greeted the four cricket teams before they played the two Twenty/20 Cricket matches.  It was a glorious sunny day for cricket. PM Hinds faced the first symbolic ball which was bowled by Suriname Culture Minister Mr. Paul Abena.

In the evening, the Prime Minister and his ministers along with Minister Paul Abena, made remarks and presented prizes to the winning team and outstanding players.  The event was sponsored by the Suriname Cricket Association.

Hundreds of Guyanese were at the Snellen Park where well-received speeches were made by the Prime Minister and his ministers.  Minister Frank Anthony invited the Suriname Cricket Association to send an Under-19 team to Guyana so that we can start an annual Under-19 tournament.  Minister Anthony also promised to send National Cricket Coach Rabindranauth Seeram to do a coaching stint in Suriname.

Minister Ramsaran repeated President Bharrat Jagdeo’s offer for Guyanese families to return to Guyana for quality medical treatment.

After the Diaspora meeting, the Prime Minister mingled with the Guyanese nationals for hours as people pledged their support to Guyana and expressed their appreciation to see how the Guyanese Prime Minister and his Ministers were easily accessible to the broad cross-section of Guyanese.  They were very impressed with the economic and social developments in Guyana.

The meeting went late into the night as Guyanese and Surinamese took the opportunity to party and enjoy the healthy discussions that took place.

The Snellen Park will forever be remembered for that Diaspora meeting and there will be many more such activities, according to Prime Minister Hinds.

The Master of Ceremony at the fund-raising dinner, Mr. Nickram Roopchand, in his opening remarks, alluded to the positive transformation that is prominently visible in almost every sector of the economy in Guyana. 

He was quick to speak about the progress made in the social sector, especially in health, education and housing.  He said the PPP General Secretary Mr. Donald Ramotar is a ‘man of substance’ and he alluded to an informal meeting that they had with Mr. Ramotar in his Office. Mr. Ramnarine, Chairman of the PPP Support Group, said he was impressed with Mr. Ramotar’s simplicity, his concern for Guyanese in Suriname and his vast knowledge of Politics and Economics.

He expressed his gratitude to the Government and people of Suriname who took in thousands of Guyanese who were forced to run away from the dictatorial and discriminatory regime of the PNC in the 1970s and 1980s, when crime was rampant, people could not find jobs and many basic food items were banned. He said those were days that Guyanese could never forget. However, he is a regular visitor to Guyana and he is greatly impressed to see the developments now taking place in Guyana. (N.K.)