Prime Minister

On October 20, 2023, the Government of Belize convened a high-level meeting in Miami, Florida, engaging with top executives from leading member cruise lines of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).

Belize’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. John Briceño, is the new Vice President of the SIDS DOCK, a Small Island Development States initiative for sustainable development. Briceño’s appointment to represent the Caribbean region was determined by acclamation and occurred during the seventh session of the SIDS DOCK Assembly held virtually on Monday, September 25th. It was held within the margins of the General Debate of the 78th United Nations General Assembly session at its headquarters in New York City, New York, USA. Briceño will start his term in January 2024. During the event, he spoke about a $50USD million initiative to mitigate against the sargassum seaweed invasion affecting Caribbean economies.

On September 4, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development & Investment convened the inaugural meeting of the International Cooperation Council (ICC). The meeting was hosted and chaired by Hon. Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade & Immigration.

Respective delegations met in Seoul on August 1 for the negotiation of a Framework Agreement for Grant Aid between the governments of Belize and the Republic of Korea. The agreement promotes poverty reduction and the sustainable economic, trade and investment, and social development of Belize through grant aid from the Republic of Korea. It also further strengthens the collaborative relations between the two countries.

The People’s Constitution Commission (PCC) met in Belmopan on January 18, 2023, to review and discuss a draft strategic plan developed by the Secretariat to guide the work of the commission for the ensuing 15 months.

On December 21, 2022, Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment, handed over 10 Troop Lifting Vehicles to the Ministry of National Defence and Border Security.

On November 15, 2022, Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment, handed over vehicles to the Belize Police Department (BPD) and computer equipment to the Belize Defence Force (BDF). The items were procured under the Belize Integral Security Programme (BISP), a BZ$60-million-dollar project funded by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), which is intended to strengthen the capacity of the BPD and BDF thereby enabling officers to provide increased security for citizens.

Belize’s Prime Minister, Honourable John Briceño, was presented on Wednesday, March 9th, with the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon by President Tsai Ing-wen for his role in enhancing ties between Belize and the Republic of China (Taiwan).