He has been there before and today he left on another journey to the Republic of China on Taiwan. Governor General Sir Colville Young departed for Taipei this afternoon to attend the inauguration of the new Taiwanese president on May 20th. In the G.G’s absence Cabinet Secretary Bobby Leslie will act as Governor General.
Caribbean leaders will have the opportunity to meet with their former colonial masters next week as part of the second UK/Caribbean Forum. The meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and 14 CARICOM nations, 5 British overseas Caribbean Territories and Bermuda plus Haiti will take place in London on May 11th and 12th. Representing Belize at […]
He served under two different governments as Belize’s Ambassador to Guatemala. On Tuesday, after two months in the hospital, Mike Mena finally succumbed to cancer in the United States. The 52-year old Mena had been rushed to Houston in February, shortly after meeting the four Belizean law enforcement officers who were being held in Flores, […]
In other news from Belmopan the weekly release from Cabinet indicates that a number of decisions have been made on the national and international fronts. Among them are the approval of two protocols enlarging Belize’s participation in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, as well the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to properly implement the […]
While summit meetings are great media events their lengthy lists of resolutions are usually forgotten long before the words fade from the fax paper. But the real work of such gatherings, like the one now taking place in Havana, is the time spent by world leaders meeting one on one. Today Belizean Prime Minister Said […]
In other international news Belize has become the 8th country to ratify the treaty establishing a permanent international court. This is a court which would have jurisdiction if national courts are unwilling or unable to administer justice to people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The issue has come up most recently […]
As far as the United States is concerned the big news involving Cuba this week is the tug of war over 6 year old Elian Gonzalez. But for the rest of the world the South Summit now being held in Havana is a story of more lasting significance. At this evening’s session our own Prime […]
The last time he traveled to Cuba, in February of last year, it was on a state visit, which deepened bilateral relations between two neighbours. This week Prime Minister Said Musa is back on the communist island to participate in what’s become known as the South-South Summit. Over 130 delegations are present, of which 40 […]
His name is Erh-huang Tsai but the new Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize says you can call him Charles. The representative of the nation which gives Belize more financial assistance than any other today presented his credentials to the Governor General in Belmopan and also paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minster. Tsai is the […]
Prime Minister Said Musa returned home today after attending a summit of Central American leaders and the President of Brazil. The meeting, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, sought to improve relations between the South American giant and the Central American sub-region, including Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic. In a declaration signed at meeting’s […]
He’s been here a little over two years and during that time his government has been Belize’s biggest single benefactor. Whether it’s roads, houses or aquaculture, Taiwan and its busy ambassador have been at the forefront of the nation’s development. Today News Five’s Stewart Krohn caught up with Kuo Hsiung Shen as he prepared to […]
The new extradition treaty signed last week between Belize and the United States will make it easier for accused criminals wanted in one country to be sent back from the other for trial. According to Solicitor General Edwin Flowers, the treaty covers a number of new crimes not mentioned in the previous treaty signed with […]
Last year his name was splashed across the British press as the proverbial billionaire bull in a china shop. According to Fleet Street the bi-national Michael Ashcroft, who happened to be Belize’s Ambassador to the UN, was attempting to brashly parlay his position as the Conservative Party’s treasurer and biggest benefactor to attain new heights […]
Belize has signed the first post-independence extradition treaty with the United States. The document was signed on Thursday aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter “Confidence” by Prime Minister Said Musa and US Ambassador Carolyn Curiel. It replaces the Extradition Treaty signed in 1972 between the United Kingdom, the terms of which were applied by both […]
The Belizean four may be home to stay, but their ordeal in Guatemala continues to send ripples through the international community. At the conference of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in St. Kitts and Nevis, leaders this week expressed concern, as they learned that Guatemala had reiterated it’s territorial claim to […]
Technical talks on the territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala went ahead as scheduled today, but this time they were held at the Organization of American States in Washington D.C. They were originally scheduled for Miami late last month, but canceled after four Belizean soldiers were detained by the Guatemalan army. Today’s meeting was conducted […]
Prime Minister Said Musa returned to Belize today after attending a summit in Guadalupe and opening “Belize Week” in the City of Merida. In Guadalupe, the PM and CARIforum heads of Government met with French President Jacques Chirac to discuss European Union/Caribbean relations and French bilateral programs for the Caribbean. The French President pledged support […]
When he traveled to Guatemala last month for the inauguration of President Alfonso Portillo, Prime Minister Said Musa took an honoured and equal place at the table with visiting heads of state from all over Central America. But only a few weeks later the shooting of a Guatemalan civilian by a BDF patrol and the […]
It has dominated the headlines of both countries’ national press: the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan civilian by Belizean troops, subsequent tension on the jungle covered border, tough words from the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry and rebuttal from Belmopan. What does it all mean? Like much of the diplomatic history of Belize and Guatemala, there appears […]
The original intention was to have Belize pass its copyright and intellectual property rights legislation by the beginning of 2000, but the complex nature of the issue has lead the Attorney General’s Ministry to take a more cautious approach rather than rush the bill through. To help members of the public understand the issues, which […]
The Minister of National Security Jorge Espat was the guest of Mexico’s Minister of National Defense General Enrique Cervantes Aguirre this week in Mexico City. The visit was designed to further strengthen military ties between both countries and explore ways to deal with common threats across our borders. Areas of mutual co-operation discussed include training […]
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Britain’s defense department spent the last two days in Belize and is now heading for Guatemala with meetings with the new President Alfonso Portillo. Minister Peter Kilfoyle held a press conference this afternoon at British Army Training Support Unit Belize, BATSUB at Price Barracks this afternoon. He reviewed […]
Prime Minister Said Musa’s trip to Guatemala City last week to attend the inauguration of the new president marked a chance for a new chapter in Belize Guatemala relations. Since independence in 1981, the issue of the Guatemalan claim to Belize has receded in public mind and in recent years, the issue has arisen only […]
Belize will be represented at next week’s presidential inauguration in Guatemala City by none other than Prime Minister Said Musa. It is Musa’s second official trip to Guatemala since becoming Prime Minister and he will no doubt take the opportunity to strengthen ties with a new president who is reputed to be a hardliner on […]
This morning the Prime Minister Said Musa received a courtesy call from the Vice President of Colombia, Dr. Gustavo Bell Lemus. Lemus was accompanied by Vice Foreign Minister, Maria Fernanda Campos Savedra. The delegation then visited the Governor General Sir Colville Young.
