_{Photo: (l-r) Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize and Bernardo Arévalo, President of Guatemala}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Aug. 28, 2024

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. John Briceño, along with a delegation of government officials, departed the country to make an official visit to Guatemala, where he discussed the diplomatic ties between the two countries with Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo.

PM Briceño shared highlights of his trip via several social media posts. In one of his posts he commented, “Our official delegation to Guatemala discussed security cooperation, commitment to the full implementation of our Partial Scope Agreement for trade, as well as possibilities for expansion. We looked at avenues to improve our interactions along the border region of Jalacte, Belize and Santa Cruz, Guatemala for the mutual benefit of our people.”

In another post, he was seen addressing the Association of Guatemalan Exporters (AGEXPORT) on the avenues for enhancing commercial relations between Belize and Guatemala.

In reference to that post, PM Briceño said, “In the afternoon, almost 20 Belizean investors were looking for markets in Guatemala, or investors that could come into Belize … we had a meeting with them and there’s a lot of networking to see how they can access our market, we can access theirs.”

After his return, PM Briceño met with members of the media on Wednesday, August 28, and described the trip as a success.

“We addressed many issues, including the issue of trade, border, the Sarstoon, and how we can continue to work closer between both countries,” he said. “What was agreed to, we’re going to set subcommittees, for the instance of trade, that we’re going to address the stumbling blocks … with the border incursions and the Sarstoon, both the BDF and the Guatemalan Armed Forces are going to meet to be able to work out how [it] is we are going to have better communications in this area,” he further said.