This Tuesday, the ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the Republic of Suriname, Ayerim Flores Rivas, held a meeting with the Minister of Health, Amar Ramadhin, in order to reaffirm the friendly relations that have historically existed between both countries, and within the framework of the joint work of Petrocaribe and ALBA-TPC to combat the health crisis and mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic.
During the meeting, Ambassador Ayerim Flores, on behalf of the Bolivarian Government, donated 7 thousand rapid tests for the arrest of COVID-19 to Suriname, fulfilling the commitment previously agreed by both Foreign Ministers.
The tests were received by Minister Ramadhin, who thanked on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Suriname for this donation, stating that “it will be of great help to the people of Suriname, particularly the inhabitants of the interior of the country.”
On October 11, 2020, the President of Suriname, Chan Santokhi, announced at a press conference that the rapid test would be operational soon in Suriname “allowing to have the result of the COVID-19 test in 20 minutes”, and that also, the tests could be implemented at airports.
For his part, Minister Ramadhin was interested in knowing the measures that the Bolivarian Government is implementing to combat the pandemic, highlighting that Venezuela is an example to follow by being one of the pioneer countries in carrying out the test for its citizens for free.
He also asked about the cooperation and progress being made with Russia to obtain the vaccine.
The occasion was also propitious to reaffirm the willingness of both countries to strengthen the already good relationship of friendship and cooperation that exists, and to keep supporting each other in the fight against COVID-19.