Right now, it's after 1:00 am in Lisbon, Portugal, which means the prime minister is likely already asleep.
Lisbon is the third stop on the PM's three week trip to six countries on three continents. He's already been to Brussels, Belgium, where he attended the EU Development Days Conference, after which he jetted off to Rwanda, Africa, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit.
And In Portugal, he will be attending the World Ocean Summit before going to Suriname and then Guyana.
It's a lot of traveling - and it may sound like a lot of fun - but today the PM told the press via Zoom that it's also a lot of work. He explained why the meetings that he has been a part of are beneficial to the development of Belize:
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister
"An invitation came to us from the European Union to come to this conference that that have. This is the first time that a prime minister from Belize has been invited to this conference and so the EU is one of our biggest partners in development. For instance, they just approve 17 million Euros for us to help us in different matters, in developing the rural areas, energy and so forth. So it was important for me to be able to attend that meeting and at the same time it was important for me to meet the people that are making these decisions as to whether they are going to help Belize or not. I am now in Portugal because of the conference of the Oceans and many of the countries they want to hear from us on the successes that we've had, the issue of the Blue Bond. Tomorrow we are going to have another meeting with SIDS DOCK and there again we are looking with the possibility exist that we are going to get some funding to do an energy generation project in Caye Caulker and San Pedro. It is only by coming to these places that we can get these things done and then we make contacts with other prime ministers. For instance, tomorrow the foreign minister of Portugal is asking for a meeting with me which I have alredy agree with. I am going to be hosting a meeting/cocktail with the Prince of Monaco tomorrow evening and so there a number of things that we are doing. So what has happen is that all these meetings is in line one after the other. When I finish here, I go to Suriname."
In Suriname, the PM will be handing over the chairmanship of Caricom.
