Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—On Friday, September 11, Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez concluded an official visit to Suriname, where she signed 10 bilateral agreements covering fishing, energy, food production, transportation, tourism, and education. Both countries sought to translate five decades of diplomatic relations into concrete economic cooperation.
Rodríguez arrived at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport on Thursday evening. There, she was welcomed by Surinamese Foreign Affairs Minister Melvin Bouva on behalf of President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons. Both governments presented the visit as part of the commemoration of approximately 50 years of diplomatic relations, established in 1975.
On Friday, Rodríguez received ceremonial honors at the Presidential Palace in Paramaribo before holding her first in-person meeting with Simons. Rodríguez also led a floral tribute at the bust of Liberator Simón Bolívar in Kerkplein, placing Venezuela’s Bolivarian historical tradition at the center of the diplomatic visit.
Following bilateral meetings between the two delegations, officials signed two agreements, four letters of intent, three cooperation frameworks, and one joint declaration. The documents addressed fishing and aquaculture, agrifood production, aviation, tourism, oil and gas, higher education, specialized professional training, academic exchanges, and diplomatic education.
The Venezuelan delegation included Venezuelan Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao; Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Juan Carlos Loyo; Transportation Minister Francisco Garcés; Tourism Minister Daniella Cabello; and First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Oliver Blanco.
The Surinamese delegation included Foreign Minister Bouva; Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Minister Mike Noersalim; and Transportation, Communication and Tourism Minister Raymond Landveld. The agreements in their respective sectors were signed by the responsible ministers from both countries.
Fishing, transportation and energy
One of the most immediate agreements will allow 200 Venezuelan fishermen from Nueva Esparta and Sucre states to obtain licenses to operate in an Atlantic fishing corridor established by Suriname. Rodríguez said the arrangement would benefit Venezuelan workers while allowing Suriname to expand exports of species such as grouper and snapper to the United States and other markets.
Surinamese media noted that the corridor’s location and dimensions, licensing conditions, environmental oversight, and enforcement mechanisms have not yet been publicly detailed. These operational questions are expected to be addressed as the agreement is implemented.
The two governments also reached agreements to restore commercial flights and grant fifth-freedom rights to their airlines, allowing carriers to transport passengers and cargo between the two countries and onward to tertiary destinations. The initiative is intended to promote trade and multidestination tourism, while complementary discussions addressed the need for stronger maritime connections.
Rodríguez observed that South America and the Caribbean remain more closely connected to destinations outside the region than to each other. The transportation agreements seek to reverse that colonial-era pattern by creating direct commercial routes between neighboring countries.
In the energy sector, Venezuela offered Suriname technical assistance in oil and gas exploration and production, as well as specialized training through the Venezuelan Institute of Petroleum Technology and the Venezuelan University of Hydrocarbons. Suriname is preparing to develop its offshore petroleum resources and is seeking training for its emerging national industry.
President Simons also raised an unresolved judicial matter involving a proceeding against PDVSA assets in Suriname connected to the former Petrocaribe compensation mechanism. According to the Surinamese account, the legal process remains open, and no final judicial decision has been issued. Simons said her government intends to address pending bilateral matters constructively and with mutual respect. This issue received substantial attention in Surinamese coverage but was omitted from the Venezuelan reports.
Food security and education
Agricultural cooperation will include discussions on affordable Venezuelan urea for Surinamese farmers, the harmonization of sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, animal genetics, regenerative agriculture, and productive alliances. Both governments identified agriculture, livestock, and fishing as essential to regional food sovereignty and protection against volatile international markets.
Venezuela also offered places for Surinamese students in medical, hydrocarbon, health, agricultural, and technological programs, along with technical, vocational, and diplomatic training. Rodríguez said that the next Venezuela–Suriname Commission should meet in Suriname in the first quarter of 2027. However, one Surinamese report gave the broader timetable of the first half of the year.
Simons stressed that the relationship’s success should not be measured by the number of documents signed but by “concrete and sustainable results” for both populations. Rodríguez thanked Suriname for the humanitarian assistance provided following Venezuela’s June 24 earthquake and renewed her invitation for Simons to visit Caracas.
Women leading regional politicsThe meeting also had political significance beyond the agreements themselves. Simons is Suriname’s first woman president, while Rodríguez is the first woman to exercise Venezuela’s presidency. Their encounter placed two women at the center of an important South American and Caribbean diplomatic initiative.
The Suriname visit reinforces a visible feature of Rodríguez’s regional agenda: direct engagement with women exercising national leadership, adding to her previous meetings with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and Grenada Governor-General Dame Cécile La Grenade.
This is more than ceremonial representation. At a time when Washington is attempting to reassert control over the hemisphere and its strategic resources, these meetings give greater prominence to women leaders advancing sovereign cooperation among Caribbean and South American nations.
Near the conclusion of the signing ceremony, Rodríguez summarized the visit’s wider political message.
“The path is cooperation, friendship, and relations within the framework of international law, which must replace any form of conflict,” she said, urging the region and the world to follow that example.
Although Rodríguez did not mention Guyana, the regional reference was difficult to miss. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali’s government has maintained a confrontational posture toward Venezuela over the Essequibo territorial dispute while strengthening its political and security alignment with Washington and facilitating ExxonMobil’s exploitation of petroleum resources in maritime areas awaiting delimitation.
Venezuela maintains that the 1966 Geneva Agreement provides the only legitimate framework for reaching a practical and mutually satisfactory solution to the territorial dispute. Caracas participated in recent International Court of Justice hearings to present its historical position, reiterating that doing so did not constitute recognition of the court’s jurisdiction.
The contrast drawn by Rodríguez was therefore noted: while Venezuela and Suriname used diplomacy to produce agreements beneficial to their peoples, Georgetown’s handling of the Essequibo dispute remains entangled with a colonial territorial award, US geopolitical pressure, and the interests of a foreign oil corporation.
Suriname’s perspectiveSurinamese media framed Rodríguez’s visit mainly through its practical implications for the country, emphasizing the 10 signed documents, prospective economic cooperation, and unresolved bilateral matters. Venezuelan coverage gave greater prominence to the countries’ historical ties, Bolivarian integration, and the regional importance of sovereign cooperation. The difference was primarily one of editorial emphasis rather than an openly hostile or far-right position, although the Surinamese reports offered little context about Washington’s sanctions and pressure against Venezuelan assets.
Among the unresolved issues was a judicial attachment affecting Suriname’s debt to PDVSA or assets linked to the Petrocaribe compensation mechanism. Earlier reporting connected similar Caribbean proceedings to ConocoPhillips’ efforts to enforce arbitral awards against PDVSA. Although the underlying claims predate Juan Guaidó, their enforcement unfolded amid Washington’s recognition of his self-proclaimed “interim government” and its broader offensive against Venezuelan state assets abroad.
Orinoco Tribune Special by staff
OT/JRE/SF
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