Surinamese National Assembly Speaker, delegation meets President Ramotar

Georgetown, GINA, October 25, 2013

 

Speaker of the National Assembly in Suriname Dr. Jennifer Geerling Simmons arrived in Guyana on Thursday for a meeting with President Donald Ramotar, and Parliamentarians in the company of a delegation of legislators.

Her visit was long in the making and follows an invitation extended by former Speaker of the National Assembly in Guyana Ralph Ramkarran who sought to promote and deepen relations among the legislatures of Guyana and neighbouring countries.

Incumbent speaker of the National Assembly in Guyana Raphael Trotman who escorted Dr. Simmons from the airport to the meeting with President Ramotar said similar engagements are to be sought with parliamentarians in Venezuela, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.

“This is actually the first that has borne some fruit… it’s important that we have a better understanding of each other, how we think and what informs our policies,” Trotman told reporters in an invited comment at the Office of the President.

The 13- member delegation of legislators from Suriname who accompanied the Speaker consists of both the Government and opposition MPs.

Joining President Ramotar were, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and Presidential Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira.

She told reporters subsequently that her dialogue with President Ramotar and team focused on the current political environment in Guyana and the variations in the political system between Guyana and Suriname.

She is hopeful that her visit will yield knowledge about the Guyanese population and areas where the two country’s parliaments can work together.

Their time in Guyana will include meetings with the Foreign Relations Committee, a meeting with all the female Members of Parliament which Dr. Simmons is likely to find interesting considering her chairmanship of the women’s arm of the South American Parliamentary group.

Trotman is hoping that out of this visit will be exchange engagements where parliamentarians from Guyana can travel to other neighbouring countries on a annual or biannual basis and also collaborate on several priority issues.

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