Suriname summons Guyana’s Ambassador in spat over New River Triangle

– protest note issued following plans to develop Tigris airstrip in Guyana territory

The Surinamese Government has issued a protest note to Guyana, over the recently announced plans to develop the airstrip at ‘Camp Jaguar’ in a Region Six area known as the New River Triangle… an area that Suriname falsely claims as its own.
As a matter of fact, news from out of Suriname has emerged that Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname, Virjanand Depoo, was actually summoned for an audience with the Suriname Government.
According to the reports, Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Albert Ramdin summoned Depoo on Friday, to express concern over the announced plans for the airstrip, as well as a school, which were recently made by President Dr Irfaan Ali.
Ramdin expressed concerns regarding the plans to develop the ‘Camp Jaguar’ airstrip, even though it is well within Guyana’s territory in Region Six, East Berbice-Corentyne.

Despite this, it is reported that Ramdin claimed the territory is in Suriname territory and the plans would need approval from Suriname. It was further reported that a protest note was sent to the Government of Guyana.
However, efforts by this publication to solicit a comment from Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd and Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud proved futile.
In the case of the NRT, Suriname, following on the heels of Venezuela’s seizure of Ankoko Island back in 1966, actually attempted to seize the NRT area in 1969 by sneaking troops into the area and proceeding to construct an airstrip at what is now Camp Jaguar.
However, a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) mission into the area had driven the Surinamese troops out of the location, sending them back across the border into Suriname. As a consequence, Guyana had converted the base into ‘Camp Jaguar’, manned by Guyanese troops ever since.
Today, Guyana and Suriname share cordial relations and only recently recommitted to strengthening bilateral cooperation in a number of areas ranging from food security, energy security and border security with the aim of fostering economic development in the two countries and prosperity for their peoples.
These pledges were made by Governance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Gail Teixeira, and Suriname’s Ambassador to Guyana, Liselle Blankendal, at a reception last week in Georgetown. The event was held to celebrate both the 49th anniversary of Suriname’s Independence and the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two neighbouring countries.

The Corentyne River Bridge was one of the first projects agreed on between Presidents Ali and Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi. These Heads of States had previously underscored the critical role the bridge would play in advancing cooperation and creating more opportunities for development for both countries.
The Corentyne River Bridge, which would connect Moleson Creek in Guyana with South Drain in Suriname, would be approximately 3.1 kilometres in length and would have a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination would be established. That duty-free zone would see major infrastructural development: such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets.
Additionally, President Ali has for some time touted a regional energy corridor as Guyana moves to monetise its gas resources, which will be an independent project from the model Gas-to-Energy (GtE) initiative that is currently under construction at Wales, West Bank Demerara.