Earlier in the news, we told you that the PM has been out of the country for over 20 days. He first left on July 15 to attend the European Union - Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit 2023.
And while in Brussels, Belgium, he was advocating for easier travel for Belizeans to Europe by waiving the need for a Schengen VISA.
Today, he told us that the chances of that happening is high, and we'll likely know the result of that vote in November.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"What has happened is that CELAC, which is the Caribbean and Latin American countries, we have not met with the EU for the past eight years so when they decided that they were going to call this meeting, it was important for Belize to be there. The meeting went well as planned but for us, we have been campaigning very vigorously to get VISA waivers to enter into the, the Schengen VISAS. We have made the point that we have modernized our passports, it's not digitized and it has biometrics, it has all the security features that they have required but also probably just as important we have made the point that Belizeans, there's very little risk of Belizeans wanting to go live in the European countries. In our discussions with the different countries on a one-on-one basis, pretty much they're very sympathetic because we tell them that we need to go to Mexico or we need to go to El Salvador or Guatemala to get a VISA, it's becoming very expensive to be able to go. They believe, most of the countries have agreed that they're going to be supporting Belize, there's going to be, they're going to meet in November to make a decision, and we're hopeful that it can come up in November and from all indications, if that were to happen, it seems very likely that we are going to get the VISA waiver."
Reporter:
"What are the advantages of such an initiative?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister
"The big advantage is that Belizeans will no longer have to go to Mexico City or to go to Guatemala or to go to Honduras to get a VISA to be able to go to those countries. I believe that by making it also easier to travel, I think it will help to also foster trade or economic investment between both countries so I think it would be something good for Belize."
