On 10th May, 2023, a bilateral meeting was held between Senator the Honourable Dr. Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and His Excellency Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala. The Meeting was held in the margins of the 28th Ordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and the Ninth ACS Summit being held in Antigua, Guatemala over the period 11th – 12th May, 2023.
The Ministers expressed delight in the 29 years of friendship shared between Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, noting that it is a relationship built on mutual respect and support. In this vein, Minister Flores reiterated Guatemala’s support for Trinidad and Tobago’s bid for the Presidency of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2023.
The exchange between the two Ministers underscored the need to improve intra-regional travel. In this regard, Minister Browne highlighted that regional transportation is a priority concern within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and intimated that options were being explored by Caribbean Airlines Limited to expand its travel routes in Latin America. He advanced that this will be pivotal in bringing our countries closer through more frequent people-to-people interactions.
Avenues for cooperation in the area of diplomatic training and capacity building were also discussed during the bilateral meeting. In this regard, mention was made of scholarships offered by the Government of Guatemala, as well as a proposal for the implementation of an exchange programme between the Diplomatic Academies of the two countries.
The Ministers agreed that there is great potential to be explored, and built on, in the business and trading relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala. In this regard, a commitment was made to finalise bilateral agreements in trade and investment which are currently being considered by the respective Governments.
Finally, the Ministers committed to deepening bilateral relations and to taking decisive actions to progress the matters discussed. Minister Browne indicated that he looks forward to welcoming Minister Flores to Trinidad and Tobago in the near future. Both Ministers expressed eagerness to celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations in May 2024.
