Boa Vista to G/Town highway among areas discussed by Guyana, Brazil

– as Pres Ali attends Brazil-Caribbean Summit in Brasilia

President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Brazilian counterpart, President Luis Inacio ‘Lula’ Da Silva, had discussions on a number of infrastructure projects, including a highway connecting Boa Vista to Georgetown.
The two Heads of State held these talks on the sidelines of the Brazil–Caribbean Summit 2025 being held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Itamaraty Palace in Brasília.
During a bilateral meeting on Friday afternoon, President Lula discussed with President Ali, “…the implementation of infrastructure projects that will allow the flow of Brazilian goods throughout the Caribbean, including the paving of the highway connecting Boa Vista to Georgetown.”

Boa Vista is located in the Brazilian State of Roraima, which lies on the border with Guyana.
According to a brief statement from President Lula’s office, the two leaders also discussed international mobilisation initiatives related to biodiversity conservation and forest protection, in preparation for Conference of the Parties (COP30), which is being hosted by Brazil in November this year.
President Dr Irfaan Ali joined his colleagues from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to participate in the Brazil–Caribbean Summit 2025. The Guyanese leader arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasília Friday morning, and was received by Brazil’s Foreign Minister, the Honourable Mauro Vieira.
The two-day High-Level Summit, themed “Bringing Together to Unite,” sought to strengthen ties between Caribbean nations and Brazil, in response to shared challenges such as food security, climate change, energy transition, and connectivity. The Guyanese Head of State delivered remarks during the first day of the summit on Friday, according to a post on the Office of the President’s social media page.

The Brazil–Caribbean Summit 2025 brings together 16 countries in Brasilia to forge closer ties and strengthen partnerships. According to President Lula, this summit sought to strengthen dialogue and promote integrated action for the benefit of all nations. Friday’s meeting focused on five central themes to enhance collaboration between Brazil and the Caribbean. These include climate change, energy transition, food security, disaster risk management, and connectivity.
During his remarks at the opening ceremony, President Lula highlighted the need to improve air, road and sea connectivity between Brazil and the Caribbean. In this regard, it was stated that the South American Integration Routes programme, led by Brazil, aims to create and improve the infrastructure that connects the region to boost trade and reduce transportation costs.
“The lack of connections explains why the Caribbean imports more from the United States (US), China and Germany than from Brazil. The items that supply the region come from distant places, even though the ports of Santana, in Amapá, and Pecém, in Ceará, are neighbouring ports,” said the Brazilian President.
This programme is being funded with a US$5 million investment by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for projects in South American countries, especially Guyana and Suriname.
Guyana is already working on a massive road project leading to Lethem, the township that shares a border with northern Brazil. The Guyana Government anticipates that this roadway will open up new opportunities to increase trade with northern Brazil. This new road, coupled with the Corentyne River Bridge linking Guyana and Suriname, is expected to position Guyana has a major transport hub in the region. Only in March, Guyana and the state of Roraima in northern Brazil, renewed efforts to deepen economic ties while placing their respective private sectors as the drivers of investment and business collaboration.
Guyana and Brazil already have close working relations in a number of areas including agriculture, infrastructure development, and military cooperation among others. The ground work for this year’s Brazil–Caribbean Summit was laid in Georgetown last year when President Lula visited.
CARICOM member states, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, along with key international organisations such as the IDB and the Association of Caribbean States, are being represented at the two-day event in Brasilia. Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the summit, President Ali also met with the President of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), Sergio Diaz-Granados Guida, in the Brazilian capital on Friday. The Caribbean is a region of growing importance for the Brazilian Government. Despite the potential, trade between Brazil and Caribbean countries is still modest and concentrated in a few products, such as processed foods like soybeans, corn and meats as well as oil, machinery, chemicals and fertilisers. In 2024, Brazil’s trade flow with Caribbean countries reached approximately US$4 billion, with a significant Brazilian surplus. Brazilian authorities recognised that there are opportunities for diversification and expansion of Brazilian exports, especially of food, medicines, fuels and manufactured goods.
Brazil has sought to strengthen cooperation ties with the Caribbean, especially through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), in areas such as health, agriculture, technical training and civil defence.