Belize & Guatemala Foreign Ministers Meet in Belize

Wilfred Elrington

And on the subject of Belize – Guatemala relations, Elrington updated us on a Mixed Commission meeting held last Friday. That high-level session was attended by both Foreign Ministers, Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales, and featured the usual array of topics on the way to establishing closer ties between the countries.

Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“We met and a decision was taken to try to implement the thirteen agreements that we had signed and to continue with the confidence building measures while we await the process going to the ICJ leading up to the referendum which in fact we hope will take us to the ICJ. So basically we have a Mixed Commission with them and meet where they have representatives from Guatemala and that is headed by the Guatemalan Ambassador who is resident here. The Belize side is headed by Alexis Rosado, our Ambassador over there. Their purpose is really to make sure that the agreements which we signed with them two years ago in Placencia are implemented, fleshed out and then we have other confidence-building measures and proposals that we want to put forward for the acceptance of our two peoples.”

Mike Rudon

“With the Guatemalan election out of the way and the swearing in of the President, is it expected that the talk on the referenda in both countries will now proceed expeditiously because it had gone on a go-slow?”

Wilfred Elrington

“It is now expected that the Guatemalan Congress will take steps to ratify the amended protocol. You remember we had amended the protocol so that either of us can go to referendum at separate times or we can go together. The Guatemalan Congress needs to ratify that amended protocol. Once that is ratified we need to think in terms of taking the necessary steps to do the referendum which is necessary for us to take this matter to the International Court of Justice.”