Brazil eager to provide security support as Guyana, Suriname & French Guiana continue strategic talks

Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are three of the countries in the Guiana Shield that have deepened cooperation in recent years through the Guiana Shield Strategic Dialogue, hoping to curtail security threats and strengthen cooperation.

And Brazil, another country that is part of the Guiana Shield, is eager to deepen ties too.

Brazilian military attaché Colonel Josi Cruz, during a meeting in Georgetown on Monday, said even though Brazil is just an observer to the current tripartite engagement, it is keen on being a full partner.

And he opined that there are many areas for deeper collaboration, evidenced by recent occurrences.

“I know there were more than 1,200 fires in Guyana and in Roraima, Brazil there were more than 4,000 fires.

“This is an excellent example of how problems don’t respect the borders,” Colonel Cruz said, emphasising that the solution to these shared problems lies in helping each other and sharing knowledge and best practices.

Already, he pointed out, Brazil and Guyana have been sharing satellite images to deal with the fires. A Brazilian team was also in Guyana providing support for weeks. Colonel Cruz said Brazil is prepared to send an aircraft to Guyana, if necessary.

Like Colonel Cruz, Suriname’s Minister of Defence Krishna Mathoera stressed just how important it is for the countries to partner to combat shared issues.

Both Colonel Cruz and Minister Mathoera were part of another round of talks as part of the Guiana Shield Strategic Dialogue.

So what is this strategic dialogue?

In 2021, stakeholders from Guyana, Suriname and France gathered for the first round of talks in Cayenne, French Guiana. The talks focused on defence and security and a common security masterplan was inked.

SInce then, the nations have been working together to counter common threats across the shield be it transnational crime, deforestation and other climate change disasters, and trafficking.

Stakeholders are in Guyana this week for another round of talks.

Guyana’s Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips said the dialogue has to help guide partnerships in the region.

“The Guiana Shield Strategic Dialogue therefore must continue to pay a crucial role in fostering understanding, building relationships and promoting cooperation among our countries to address the complex challenges before us and to help us to achieve common objectives.

“Protection and the integrity of our respective territories are among those common objectives. Coordination and to have a coordinated approach to transnational crimes is another of those objectives,” he said.