Guyana, Trinidad renew Framework Agreement for deepening bilateral cooperation

Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to the renewal of the Framework Agreement for the deepening of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Framework Agreement was signed between the two parties in August 1999 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and was initially valid for ten years before being renewed for five successive periods; but it was never enacted.
However, State Minister Joseph Harmon on Thursday disclosed that during the meetings on the margins of the 28th Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), held in February 2017, President David Granger and Trinidad’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley agreed to give effect to the agreement.
The renewal will now be for a further ten years, and provides for bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, agriculture, agro-processing, petroleum extraction, fisheries and the environment.
Minister Harmon said a high-level commission comprising the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Trade of both countries, or their identified alternatives, will oversee the implementation of the agreement.
The renewal, the minister said, will strengthen the relationship between the two countries.