Guatemala talks scheduled for Feb. 7

The Belize-Guatemala talks…a topic we have not discussed in detail for quite some time. But the latest from Belmopan is that a ministerial meeting has been rescheduled for early February and will be preceded late this month by technical talks. According to a government release issued late this evening, on Friday, February seventh, Belizean Foreign Minister Assad Shoman will join his newly appointed counterpart from Guatemala, Edgar Gutierrez, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States in Washington D.C. One of the topics on the table is an agreement to establish a transitional process through which will hopefully result one day in simultaneous referenda on the Ramphal-Reichler proposals. Given the challenges on either side of the border, the agreement seeks to keep the peace on the ground and communication channels open in the two capitals. Accompanying Shoman in Washington will be Ambassador Fred Martinez and other members of the negotiating team. The technical meeting will take place in El Salvador on January twentieth.