Press Release – Government of Belize – January 15, 2016 – The Prime Minister, Honorable Dean Barrow will return to Belize on Sunday after attending the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, in Guatemala City. The Prime Minister joined several other Heads of State and Government from within and outside the region to witness the peaceful transition of government in the neighboring country. He was happy to reciprocate the visit of President Morales who had come to personally deliver the invitation to attend the inauguration.
The Prime Minister was satisfied by his attendance which he considers important for maintaining good neighborly relations with Guatemala. Apart from having received assurances in private of a commitment to friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the Prime Minister very much welcomed the remarks of President Morales made publicly in his inauguration speech when he said, “We want to advance in the resolution of the territorial, maritime and insular dispute with Belize, our brothers and neighbor with whom we wish to develop a bilateral agenda of neighborliness and cooperation.”
During his visit the Prime Minister had the opportunity to meet with several other dignitaries, including Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden. He raised the subject of the correspondent banking issues facing Belize. Prime Minister Barrow recalled that this matter had been raised before with President Obama who undertook to look into it, but to date the problem persists. For this reason the Government of Belize is preparing for a high level visit headed by the Prime Minister to Washington D.C. later this month. The Vice President was very interested in doing what he can to assist and support the efforts in getting to a resolution.
