For the past few days we have been showing you highlites of Wednesday's Senate Debate - mostly the back and forth. Well, during these debates in the House and Senate, parliamentarians who are sitting ministers of government usually take the opportunity to update the general public on important matters in their ministry.
During his comments on the budget, Eamon Courtenay, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade discussed the Briceno Government's recent diplomatic missions. He said that the Prime Minister's official visits and Belize's hosting of CARICOM and SICA in San Pedro have been very successful:
Eamon Courtenay - Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade
"We had the pleasure and the honor, Madam President, to receive colleagues, not only during the Summit but on a bilateral basis: [the] Foreign Minister from Honduras, the previous Foreign Minister Lisandro Banegas. We had the pleasure to receive the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Rodolpho Zolano Quiroz. Every single member of the Cabinet will tell you, Madam President, that as a result of those visits by those foreign ministers, you will see an increase in scholarships, an increase in fighting and restoring our forests, an increase in assistance to the NHI through advice from Costa Rica. You will see cultural exchanges. You will see deeper and more enriching relations between Belize and Central America. Madam President, I can assure this Honorable Senate that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to work assiduously to defend the interests of Belize in the International Court of Justice, in respect of the claim by the Republic Of Guatemala. We reappointed the National Trade Negotiating Commission, Madam President, in order to have public, private, [and] civil society sitting together, shaping and designing the national trade negotiating plans and strategies for Belize in an inclusive way. We have decided, in compliance with Plan Belize, Madam President, to move forward with the Partial Scope Agreement, to expand and deepen the Partial Scope Agreement with Guatemala. That was promised in Plan Belize; we're delivering on that. Last Friday, the National Trade Negotiating Commission, after long and serious deliberation, after looking at presentations made, gave the government its official mandate to move forward with a substantial trade agreement with Mexico. Madam President, that was offered to the United Democratic Party Government under Dean Barrow by the Mexicans, and nothing… absolutely nothing was done in that regard. The Ministry of Trade of Mexico has told us that President Lopez Obrador has instructed her to conclude an agreement at the nearest possible time."
