The Commonwealth Heads of Government have affirmed their support for Belize’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity. According to a release from the government press office, the leaders meeting in Coolum, Australia have endorsed the current O.A.S. facilitation process and called upon member states to contribute generously to any fund which may be created as part […]
A Belizean delegation is back in the country tonight after grooming their counterparts in Taiwan for investment opportunities here. Deputy Prime Minister Johnny Briceno and Minister of Budget Management Ralph Fonseca travelled to South Korea last week in an attempt to cultivate new economic ties and even the possibility of oil exploration. According to the […]
On Monday, Prime Minister Said Musa will officially visit the Republic of China on Taiwan. According to a government issued release, during his three days in the country Musa will meet with Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, and other high ranking government officials. Following his trip to Taiwan, Musa will then travel to Brisbane, Australia to […]
A delegation has returned from Merida where members represented Belize at Yucatan’s Ki-huic Tourist Market. All five Mundo Maya countries exhibited at the market, putting forward examples of their music, dance and cuisine. Among the standouts at the festivities was the Belize Dance Company, which, according to a press release, brought down the house in […]
Fresh off the CARICOM summit where fighting terrorism was a key point, Belize reiterated its pledge to combat crime on all levels. Belize’s Foreign Minister Assad Shoman was in Nassau, Bahamas today where he joined other foreign ministers for a meeting with the United States Secretary of State Colin Powell to discuss trade and economic […]
In a story we ran last week on the appointment of Assad Shoman as Foreign Minister, we mentioned an incident in which an intoxicated Belizean diplomat based in London became embroiled in a playful fight with a fellow party guest and bit off a piece of the Englishman’s ear. While that diplomat, Luis Salazar, was […]
Newly appointed Senator Assad Shoman was this morning sworn in by the Governor General as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The appointment, announced several months ago, had to await the recent passage of a constitutional amendment expanding the size of the Senate. Shoman takes over the portfolio from Prime Minister Said Musa, who will retain the […]
Prime Minister Said Musa and a high level delegation have attended a summit of the Association of Caribbean States held in Venezuela. The two-day meeting, which ended on Wednesday, was held on Margarita Island and hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Among the accomplishments of the gathering was the adoption of a convention declaring the […]
This week, representatives of the Organization of American States are in Belize to conduct an investigation into the shooting incident at San Vicente Village in the Toledo District. On Tuesday, O.A.S. Director in Nicaragua, Sergio Caramanga arrived in the country and has already travelled to the area to begin his investigation. Caramanga is accompanied by […]
Prime Minister Said Musa and a business delegation are completing an official visit to El Salvador. Today, Musa met with Salvadoran President Francisco Flores and the two leaders signed a memorandum of understanding to create a bi-national commission, as well as an agreement for the promotion and protection of investments. In his speech of welcome, […]
The Taiwanese Ambassador has presented the Government of Belize with a cheque valued at just under a million Belize dollars. This morning, Ambassador Charles Tsai handed over approximately four hundred and sixteen thousand U.S. dollars to Prime Minister Said Musa. The money is part of the Government of Republic of China on Taiwan’s commitment to […]
Today, a group of twenty Belizean businesspersons returned to the country after attending the nineteenth Havana International Trade Fair in Cuba. But this year the group got more than they bargained for, as they were greeted by a category four hurricane named Michelle. Derek Nisbet, Investment Officer for BELTRAIDE, says despite the fact the show […]
This morning, the Ambassador of Spain presented his letters of credentials to Governor General Sir Colville Young. His Excellency Ramon Gandarias Alonso De Celis also paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Musa where he presented a gift of five hundred coffee table books. But more importantly, the new ambassador also pledged to donated more […]
Independence Day is a time for citizens to celebrate…but for the government, it is also a convenient time to host foreign diplomats and engage in the art of making new friends and keeping old ones. This afternoon at Philip Goldson International Airport, two good friends of Belize arrived. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister […]
Arriving on the same plane as the Vincentian Prime Minister–they both came on a charter from Havana–was Ricardo Alarcon, the President of the Cuban National Assembly. Alarcon, one of the most powerful men in Cuba, is no stranger to our shores. He represented his country here two decades ago and was an eyewitness to the […]
Five members of the British Parliament are in Belize on a goodwill visit. The group is made up of MPs Diane Abbot, John Robertson, Robert Walter, Bruce Gricott and Chris Ruane. This morning they met with the Prime Minister, Governor General and Mayor of Belmopan, as well as the British High Commissioner. Some of the […]
The Republic of China has donated close to a million dollars to the Belize Government. On Tuesday, Ambassador Charles Tsai presented a check for just over seven hundred thousand dollars to Prime Minister Said Musa for the modernisation of Belize’s Foreign Ministry. According to officials in the ministry, the money will be used in the […]
If you’ve got really good eyes, on a clear day you might have noticed a big boat on the horizon. That’s the HMS Coventry, anchored four miles outside Belize City. Ships from the Royal Navy make regular visits to Belize to liase with members of the local security forces. This afternoon, the ship let down […]
There was no rest for the Prime Minister today as he met with Japan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Taimei Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi, on a one-day visit to Belize, discussed with P.M. Musa ways of strengthening the friendly relations between Belize and Japan. Prime Minister Said Musa “We now have a group of Japanese volunteers working […]
The facilitators in the OAS sponsored negotiations between Belize and Guatemala have spoken…and what they’ve said, essentially, is that the process is a sound one, we’ve made some progress and if you give us a little more time and some honest cooperation, we believe this problem can be solved. That opinion was expressed in a […]
The Guatemalan delegation, while not in the business of predicting the future, believes that substantial progress has been made. Foreign Minister Gabriel Orellana, speaking to News Five’s Janelle Chanona last night, said that one important result of the negotiations was a relaxation of tensions on the border, and that hopefully misunderstandings of the past would […]
As for the relationship between the two governments, Belize’s facilitator, Sir Shridath Ramphal, believes that the conditions are now ripe for progress. Sir Shridath Ramphal, Facilitator, Belize “This has been an important occasion and an important opportunity for the facilitators to really try to bring the parties together on the issues, which in a sense […]
“Painstakingly detailed” is how one participant described today’s negotiating sessions in Washington D.C.; so much so that at newstime the Belize and Guatemala delegations were locked behind closed doors trying to tie up the loose ends of a set of recommendations that will hopefully move the process one step closer to an eventual solution. News […]
Officials from Belize and Guatemala gathered today for the long awaited report of the facilitators, those two distinguished gentlemen who, having listened long and hard to both sides, would pool their ample wisdom and come up with a set of suggestions on a way to put an end to Guatemala’s longstanding claim to our territory. […]
With enough negotiators to field a football team the Belize delegation has assembled in Washington, D.C. in advance of Tuesday’s meetings at the OAS. At newstime, a precise agenda had not yet been finalised, with both Belize and Guatemala putting forward their own proposals. Officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, prior to departing for […]
