Brazil’s Bolsonaro to visit Suriname and Guayana for talks on oil cooperation

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will visit Suriname and Guayana on Thursday and Friday for talks on economic cooperation following recent discoveries of oil and gas by Brazil’s two neighbors, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

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FILE PHOTO: Federal deputy Jair Bolsonaro, a pre-candidate for Brazil’s presidential election, attends a presidential debate in Brasilia

© Reuters/RANU ABHELAKH
FILE PHOTO: Suriname’s President Chandrikapersad Santokhi addresses the media during a joint news conference with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali, a day before celebrations marking the 45th anniversary of Suriname’s independence, in Paramaribo

Bolsonaro and the presidents of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, and Guayana, Irfaan Ali, will hold a working lunch in the Surinamese capital Paramaribo on Thursday to discuss “projects of common interest,” a ministry statement said.

It said the three governments were resuming a strategic dialogue at a time of “prospects for greater economic and social development in Suriname and Guyana, driven by recent discoveries of oil and gas.”

Representatives of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras are expected to accompany Bolsonaro for talks on cooperation in oil and gas and possible investments.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Karishma Singh)