President Luis Abinader and President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana issued a Joint Statement on 1 June 2023 during the visit of Abinader to Georgetown announcing enhanced bilateral relations. During the visit, the two Presidents agreed to establish a high-level working group to advance and monitor the various areas identified for cooperation. President Irfaan Ali committed to paying a reciprocal visit to the Dominican Republic by the end of June 2023.
President Luis Abinader traveled to Guyana with Minister of Foreign Relations Roberto Alvarez and Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ignacio Paliza.
The Dominican Presidency said that President Irfaan Ali would visit later in June to sign important agreements on Dominican investments in Guyana. These public investments will be centered on the energy sector, specifically, natural gas, and a new refinery.
During a press conference in Santo Domingo upon his return on Friday, 2 June 2023, Abinader noted that Guyana is the fastest developing nation in Latin America, particularly because of its recent discoveries of oil and natural gas. Guyana shares borders with Venezuela. President Abinader noted that his administration seeks ways to open Guyana to Dominican private investors.
President Abinader notes that energy security was the basis for securing the agreements with Guyana now, and, as a partner in the new refinery that is now being built in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, the Dominican Republic is securing its energy supply chain.
Besides the energy sector, President Abinader said that both countries would work together in agriculture and tourism.
The two Presidents witnessed the signing of several bilateral agreements in Georgetown:
• Memorandum of Understanding on Political Consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic.
• Air Services Agreement between the government of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the government of the Dominican Republic.
• Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in energy-related matters between the government of Guyana and the government of the Dominican Republic.
Following the visit, the Guyana Presidency reported:
“His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana welcomed His Excellency Mr Luis Abinader and his delegation of high-level Government Officials and members of the private sector to Georgetown, on Thursday, 1 June 2023. The Presidents engaged in discussions focused on enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed their commitment to pursue greater collaboration, particularly in the areas of energy, agriculture, tourism, trade, ICT, infrastructure and industry.
They hailed the establishment of a Dominican Republic Embassy in Georgetown and the accreditation of the resident Ambassador, HE Ernesto Torres Pereyra, as a tangible step in relations which will augur well for enhanced cooperation and facilitate opportunities for further engagement in the advancement of the bilateral agenda between Guyana and the Dominican Republic.
President Ali welcomed the keen interest of the private sector from the Dominican Republic in Guyana. Both Presidents recognized the important contribution that the private sectors of the two countries could make in advancing the bilateral agenda and encouraged increased collaboration and partnership between businesses of Guyana and the Dominican Republic, including increased investments by companies from both countries.
In this regard, they looked forward to the early commencement of commercial flights by Skycana, which would provide the opportunity for increased tourism and greater ease of travel in and out of Guyana.
The Presidents also discussed issues of mutual interest and concern on the regional, hemispheric and multilateral agendas and undertook to strengthen their resolve to collectively work on advocating in the interest of Small Island Developing States to address challenges including food security, energy security and the impact of climate change.
They expressed concerns over the great risks posed to their economies by sargassum and agreed to work together to find measures to mitigate the impact.
They reiterated the rule of law, protection of sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect for democracy, the promotion of human rights and sustainable development of their countries as paramount pillars for maintaining peace and security in the region.
They noted each other’s post-Covid economic recovery efforts. They underscored the value of continued engagement and advocacy at the international level for an enabling environment to facilitate the sustainable development of their countries.
In reviewing the political situation in the Republic of Haiti, the Presidents agreed that Haiti is a critical member of the Caribbean family of nations. They, therefore, welcomed the establishment of the Caricom Eminent Persons Group on Haiti to be supported by a technical team. They pledged their governments’ full support towards achieving political stability in Haiti.”
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5 June 2023