Happy Monday!

This week, we cover President Simons’ attending the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York, Suriname’s cooperation with the World Bank, and Ministers addressing the rice sector.

President Simons headed to New York for the 80th United Nations General Assembly and for meetings with countries, organisations, and various institutions.

• According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation, Melvin Bouva, the President will focus on preparation to ensure that Suriname can demonstrate itself on the world stage.

• The government will prioritise Suriname’s national interests during its efforts to present the country in an optimistic and positive light to strengthen international cooperation that can contribute to national development.

• This will be the President’s first trip abroad as head of state, and during her absence, Vice President Gregory Rusland will be responsible for the presidency.

President Simons received a visit from the World Bank to discuss cooperation between the country and the organisation through this transition period.

• President Simons received a World Bank delegation this week to deepen cooperation between the country, various national organisations, and the Bank.

• Discussions focused on how Suriname can use its time to prepare for the oil and gas transition and how to diversify the country through agriculture, tourism, and other industries to allow better participation. The Bank will help through training, certification programs, and a labour market analysis to find the expertise needed.

• The Central Bank of Suriname was also visited as the World Bank discussed ways to strengthen the private sector, focusing on SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and also improvements to digital payment infrastructure.

• The focus, according to the Bank, is to expand access to the financial system to allow more efficient payments.

• The World Bank stated it wants to support SMEs with financing and technical assistance and will focus on initiatives like hackathons in university labs and schools. expressed its intent to support SMEs through financing and technical assistance. Attention was also given to the SURGE project, strengthening of the SME fund, and initiatives such as hackathons in schools and university labs.

• Minister Baasaron of Economic Affairs has stated how important digitalisation, export promotion, special economic zones, and secondary production are to improve the country’s earning capacity.

• The meetings demonstrate the collaboration between the country and the organisation during this transition period.

The rice sector continues to live under pressure as there are disagreements that leave hundreds of farmers to live in uncertainty.

• Unions appealed to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV), and so the Minister decided to intervene. The Minister held an emergency meeting to coordinate the acute issues facing farmers.

• The union called for intervention and states that farmers are asking for a fair price, and stressed that the sector has struggled with price issues for around fifty years. The purchase price that farmers want to sell their rice for is much more than rice millers are willing to pay, with around a 79 kg sack of paddy being offered for SRD 750, while millers are offering only SRD 350.

• The union also had a meeting with President Simons, who acknowledged the problem and addressed it in her recent visit to district Nickerie.

• The problem, according to the Minister of LVV, affects the farmers but also the community, and they will focus on reaching a solution.