Belize-Guatemala talks were held yesterday and today in Istanbul, Turkey. On Sunday, Belize's Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington and his Guatemalan counterpart Carlos Raul Morales held what we are told was a four-hour working session in the margins of the World Humanitarian Summit.
The business of the meeting was concentrated into that session at the Hilton Bomonti Hotel in Istanbul. The Belize delegation was led by Foreign Minister Elrington, accompanied by Ambassador to Guatemala, Alexis Rosado, and Representative of the Leader of the Opposition, Eamon Courtenay. The Guatemalan side was represented by Foreign Minister Morales, and the Guatemalan Ambassador to Belize, Manuel Barillas, among other officials. Magdalena Talamas, the Representative of the OAS Secretary General, acted as mediator.
After that bilateral meeting, today, the delegations paid a courtesy call on the Turkish Foreign Minister since his country hosted the Humanitarian Summit, and yesterday's bilateral talks.
This morning, both Belize and Guatemala sent out an identical 450 word joint press release in English and Spanish, which contains very few specifics. It does mention that both ministers recognize the need to avoid incidents between the 2 countries as part of the confidence building measures.
The topic, which is at the forefront of everyone's mind, is mentioned almost as a footnote. That's the protocol for shared use of the Sarstoon River and the releases notes, "Both Ministers recognized the urgent need for and committed to working on the design and development of a mechanism for cooperation in the Sarstoon River, which should...be coordinated by both Foreign Ministries with the participation of the Organization of American States." End quote.
The release also speaks generally about military to military cooperation. The release says, quote, "The Ministers recognized the need to avoid incidents between the two countries…that affect the process of confidence building…they affirmed the need to work more...especially between the Armed Forces of both countries, including the possibility of having joint training for the troops responsible for patrolling the Adjacency Zone." End quote.
Of course, all this is just a start, but the release does not say if or when meetings will be held to flesh out these proposals. But it does say that both Ministers did no less, than, quote, "congratulated each other for the agreements reached and expressed their commitment towards dialogue and the creation of a positive bilateral agenda, in line with the advancement of the process...to submit the…differendum to the International Court of Justice." End quote.
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