🌉 Guyana and Suriname differ on infrastructure financing for Corantijn Bridge project

Happy Monday!

This week we cover the judicial case that saw seven police officers acquitted in the deaths of two individuals, Guyana and Suriname differ on infrastructure investment, and Suriname’s oil discoveries persist.

• The officers had been accused of using excessive force during unrest in Pikin Saron on 2 May 2023.

• The incident resulted in the deaths of Martinus Wolfjager and Ivanildo Dijksteel.

• Prosecutors had initially requested 12-month suspended prison sentences with a three-year probation period for the officers.

• The officers faced charges including manslaughter, aggravated assault resulting in death, and negligent homicide but the judge ruled that the evidence was not strong enough to support a conviction.

• During an earlier hearing, a forensic pathologist's report concluded that the victims were not fleeing when they were shot, based on the bullet trajectories.

• The pathologist also stated that the victims might have survived if they had received timely medical treatment.

• Both victims ultimately died from severe blood loss after remaining on the ground for an extended period.

• At the verdict, one defendant was absent, another was abroad, and the acquitted officers were allowed to leave the courtroom immediately.

• The government has emphasized that financing for the bridge over the Corantijn River has been discussed through bilateral consultations with Guyana.

• The Surinamese government says the financing of the Corantijn River bridge has long been part of bilateral discussions with Guyana.

• The statement responded to recent tensions and public comments from Guyana about how the project will be financed.

• Suriname had claimed that financing had long been part of bilateral discussions and that it had informed Guyana of its intention to fund the bridge.

• However, Guyana has stated that the bridge was always conceived as a joint infrastructure project, with both countries sharing responsibility for planning, financing, construction, operation, and management.

• Georgetown also says it never received official notification through diplomatic or bilateral channels that Suriname intended to assume full financial responsibility.

• While Suriname states that the two presidents discussed the issue in Nickerie on 13 September 2025 and in a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 50th CARICOM Heads of Government Conference in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and a virtual meeting between the two countries on 15 May 2026.

• However, Guyana says no discussion about bridge financing or changing the existing joint approach took place during the virtual meeting between Presidents Ali and Jennifer Simons and that it never received word that Suriname would fully finance the project through diplomatic channels.

• Suriname’s government says the bridge will strengthen trade, investment, logistics, mobility, tourism, and broader socio-economic development, and remains committed to an open, constructive, and results-oriented dialogue with Guyana.

• The Guyanese government stressed that the bridge has always been conceived as a joint infrastructure project, with both countries sharing responsibility for planning, financing, construction, operation, and management.

• Guyana added that both countries have jointly approached development partners since signing the 2020 Memorandum of Understanding to secure financing.

• While criticizing Suriname's public announcement, Guyana reaffirmed its commitment to building the bridge and said it remains ready to continue talks through existing bilateral mechanisms based on transparency, mutual respect, consultation, and joint decision-making.

• Suriname's economy expanded in the first quarter of 2026 rising from 5.6% growth in January to 6.3% in March, driven mainly by trade, hospitality, government, and service sectors, while mining and transport lagged according to the Suriname Economic Oversight Board (SEOB).

• Inflation, however, remains a major concern, with annual inflation reaching 10.9% in April and monthly inflation doubling from 0.4% to 0.8% reducing household purchasing power and increasing business costs.

• Government finances showed a budget surplus in January, with SRD 6.6 billion in revenue and SRD 4 billion in expenditure.

• But public debt remains high, standing at 86.9% of GDP under Suriname's legal definition and 123.3% of GDP under the international methodology—both well above sustainable levels.

• The banking sector remains stable, with adequate capital buffers and a low 3.1% non-performing loan ratio, but average lending rates of 14% continue to discourage investment.

• In this economic light, Petronas has made two new discoveries and completed a successful appraisal well in Suriname's offshore Block 52 as Petronas has identified more than one billion barrels of recoverable oil equivalent (BOE) in combined reserves in Suriname.

• Petronas holds an 80% stake in Block 52, while Paradise Oil Company, a subsidiary of Staatsolie, owns the remaining 20%.

• In addition to exploration, Petronas is investing in local capacity building, including providing scholarships for Surinamese students studying at Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Malaysia.

• The SEOB recommends strict fiscal discipline, operationalizing the Savings and Stabilization Fund for future oil revenues, privatizing non-strategic loss-making state enterprises, promoting economic diversification, exports, and investment beyond the mining sector among other recommendations.

• Petronas says the discoveries reinforce Suriname's position as an emerging deepwater oil and gas province in the Suriname-Guyana Basin and expects a final investment decision expected by the end of 2026.