CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan demitted office on August 31 after seven years of service.
Among her achievements during her tenure, the Surinamese diplomat championed the greening of the Secretariat’s Headquarters building highlighted by the on-going installation of solar power and oversaw the introduction of the CARICOM Results Based Management System which is now employed across the Community for a more focussed approach towards achieving its goals.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC - Assuria insurance company has acquired the Trinidad and Tobago-based Gulf Insurance Ltd in a move the company says will solidify moves to expand its operations into the Caribbean. The cost of the sale has not been disclosed, but Assuria’s general manager Stephen Smit told shareholders that the Central Bank of Suriname (CBvS) had granted permission to buy the Trinidadian company and that the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago had approved the sale months ago.
WASHINGTON, CMC – The Peace Corps says it is phasing out of its programme in Suriname after an 18-year partnership. The agency office will officially close at the end of July this year.
“Since 1995, Peace Corps volunteers and staff in Suriname have worked closely with community partners and government institutions to make a difference and ensure project sustainability,” said Acting Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet.
“The Peace Corps is leaving a strong legacy that will live on long after the Suriname post closes.”
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC-The National Assembly has ratified a new agreement for a gold mining deal with the Canadian miner Iamgold Corp.
Since 2006, the Canadian company has owned a 90 percent stake in the profitable Gros Rosebel gold mine, but under the new deal Suriname's share in the mine is bumped up to 30 percent.
The agreement, which has been two years in the making, has been high on the agenda of the Bouterse Government.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC- Former rebel leader, Ronnie Brunswijk has announced that he will be making a bid for the presidency in the 2015 election.
Brunswijk made the announcement following Saturday night’s performance by American rapper Rick Ross. The show was organized by Brunswijk’s promotions company Romeo Bravo.
The show was preceded by controversy as two local pastors called on parents not to send their children and on the Government to revoke Rick Ross' visa, because the rapper supposedly worshipped Satan and promoted violence against women.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC - In a bid to strengthen bilateral relations with Suriname the Government of Haiti will be opening a consulate here.
Haitian President Michel Martelly who arrived in Suriname on Friday for a two day official visit made the announcement at a meeting in Jarikaba.
“Before the end of April we will open a consulate in Paramaribo. Suriname will also establish a diplomatic post in Port-au-Prince," he said.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – Haiti’s President Michel Martelly is due here on Friday for talks with his Surinamese counterpart, Desi Bouterse as the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries seek to deepen bilateral relations between them, according to an official statement issued here.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC- The Government of Suriname has embarked on a joint venture with the Kaloti Group of Dubai to establish the first gold refinery in the Caribbean.
The refinery that is being built near the village of Wit Santi, close to the country’s International Airport, is expected to start operating by next year and produce as much as US$2.77 billion worth of refined gold.
On the weekend, President Desi Bouterse joined Kaloti Chairman Munir Kaloti in expressing high expectations of the facility.
PARAMARIBO, SURINAME, CMC – A military court has denied a request to dismiss a case in which President Desi Bouterse and several others are implicated in the deaths of 15 prominent people who were opposed to the then military government in Suriname in 1982. The Military Court is reported to have delivered its verdict last week when it met behind closed doors, according to the Suriname based website, Devsur. Com It said that attorney Irwin Kanhai had submitted the request on behalf of three of the accused.
PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), a civil society alliance for combatting chronic diseases, has praised Suriname for its strong anti-tobacco legislation that outlaws smoking in public. “The HCC extends congratulations to the citizens of Suriname with the passing of the Anti-Tobacco Law by parliament on February 7. This is an important step in the fight against the ill-effects of tobacco and will have a positive impact on the health of the people of Suriname,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
