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Guyana Accepted As Associate Member Of MERCOSUR

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Guyana has been accepted as an Associate member of the Southern Customs Union (MERCOSUR).

An official government statement noted that Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and her counterparts from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela, Thursday, signed a Framework Agreement paving the way for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to join MERCUSOR that was founded in 1991 and now has five full member states five associated members.

The statement said that the decision to join the grouping followed a decision taken by the Council of Ministers at the MERCOSUR Summit held in Brasilia in December 2012, to foster and strengthen the relationship between MERCOSUR and Guyana.

Among the areas covered by the Framework Association Agreement include political, economic, trade, productive development, cultural and other cooperation issues.

Mrs. Rodrigues-Birkett said Guyana has made a conscious decision to pursue its “continental destiny” and the signing of the accord “marks another step in this direction”.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Rodrigues-Birkett and Brazil’s Minister of External Relations Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, held a meeting on the sidelines of the MERCOSUR Summit in Montevideo.

A joint statement issued afterwards said they discussed a number of areas of cooperation including transportation and energy and in a bid to ensure the political disposition to move forward with the bilateral discussion: agreed that the “Brazil-Guyana Joint Commission on Infrastructure Development” be created.

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