The Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Republic of Surinam, Ayerim Flores Rivas, held a meeting on March 10 with Marinus Bee, president of the National Assembly.
Being this the first formal meeting since the new Assembly was elected in August 2020, its president welcomed the Venezuelan ambassador and thanked her for the opportunity to exchange opinions on the friendly relation that has marked the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, on the basis of mutual respect and understanding their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Assembly’s Department of International Affairs, Steven Ishwardat, who affirmed to be a witness of the close bilateral relation as his daughter is a painting student at the Venezuelan Institute for Culture and Cooperation (IVCC).
President of the National Assembly Marinus Bee expressed his interest in his staff taking Spanish lessons at IVIC, saying this helps strengthen the bilateral relation based on mutual respect.
As reported by the Surinamese media in 2020, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral relations towards new cooperation areas as part of the conversations held by President Maduro, his Surinamese counterpart, ministers from both countries and diplomatic actions aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.
The President of the National Assembly praised the success of Mission Miracle in 2018, and mentioned how the bilateral cooperation has been strengthened in areas such as agriculture, communications, legal assistance, fishing, energy, transport, culture and health, and the possibility to exchange experiences in oil security at exploration facilities given Venezuela’s experience in this field.
Likewise, the Venezuelan and Surinamese authorities discussed the Venezuelan National Assembly after the election held on December 6, 2020, the Venezuelan opposition boycott and its participation in the Parliament, and the media coverage of this election.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the Venezuelan authorities’ fight to avoid its propagation and procure vaccines despite the US blockade were also discussed at the meeting.
Ambassador Flores told the Surinamese President of the National Assembly that Venezuela received the first 100,00 vaccines and a second batch of 100,000 doses, and informed 33.3% of the population has been vaccinated as part of the vaccination campaign despite the US blockade and thanks to the cooperation of friendly countries.
The Venezuelan ambassador also mentioned the report by UN Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan on the unilateral coercive measures against Venezuela and their “devastating effect” on the population.