See below the full statement from Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation wishes to refer to the presentation of a map at a recently held International Business Conference in Paramaribo, Suriname, that inaccurately included the New River Triangle as part of the Republic of Suriname. The map was included in a publication that was distributed by the Surinamese hosts to attendees at the Conference.
The Ministry wishes to state that the presence of representatives of the Government of Guyana at the Conference in no way signifies the condoning by the Government of Guyana of the use of a map that incorrectly represents the territory of Guyana. The Government of Guyana was not consulted about the map prior to its distribution. Had it been consulted, it would have strongly objected.
For the record, the internationally recognized map of Guyana confirms that the New River Triangle is part of the sovereign territory of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. This Status is based on a binding legal process and international agreements, between and among the Governments of Brazil, Great Britain and The Netherlands in 1936.
The boundary between Guyana and Suriname was determined in 1936 when a joint British-Dutch-Brazilian Boundary Commission identified the source of the Kutari River, on the watershed with Brazil, as the tri-junction point where the boundaries of Brazil, British Guiana and Suriname meet.
A monument exists marking the tri-junction point, the southermost point of the boundary between Guyana and Suriname. The agreement fixing the tri-junction point was signed by the three Heads of the Mixed Commission (one from each State). It describes the boundary as follows:
The Mixed Commission, being satisfied that this is the only river which in any way answers to the Schomburgk description of the Kutari agreed that the boundary between Surinam and British Guiana, as defined in the instructions issued to the Mixed Commission, should follow the left bank of its longest branch.
This placed the territory that later came to be called the “New River Triangle” firmly on Guyana’s side of the international boundary. Guyana has always respected the agreed boundary, and has exercised sovereignty and enjoyed continuous occupation of the territory on its side, including the New River Triangle.
The boundary agreed in 1936 is the internationally recognized boundary between Guyana and Suriname. Any depiction suggesting otherwise is inaccurate and does not reflect the legally established boundary.
The Government of Guyana remains committed to fostering strong and cooperative relations with the Republic of Suriname, guided by principles of mutual respect and international law, and will continue to advance discussions through the mechanism established to address outstanding issues on the border between the two countries.
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