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We'll have more from them shortly, but while we had the opportunity we asked Prime Minister Dean Barrow to explain what the final MOU looked like. Here's how he described it:

Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"We took out the 20-year - the exemption from business taxes. That's been taken out. There is an insistence that after a certain number of years, the head tax will be increased. There is a great insistence on ensuring that the jobs will be had by Belizeans, even as we try to protect our sites against overcrowding. In other words, one provision says, 'You must take 25% or whatever the percentage is, of your passengers to our sites, whether marine or terrestrial, and all those tours must be for Belizeans. But, that percentage requirement has to give way to the fact that you have to check with the managers of those sites, and if they say that they could only take 100 visitors a day, or whatever amount, then you can't take more than 100 or 200. So, in every way, we're trying to ensure that we balance the need for employment, the need for investment, the need for Belizeans getting jobs. At the island itself, spaces must be reserved for Belizean businesses. They must be at a certain level. Only Norwegian Cruise Line ships can use that port, so there can be no diversion from Belize, and not even Norwegian can divert the ships they currently bring to Belize, to go down south. You must bring additional tours; so again, we're trying to protect the people in Belize City, while providing this new opportunity for those in the south. What I resent is people who suggest that this some kind of giveaway or sell-out. Man, it is always a balancing act. When enough foreign investment isn't coming, we're criticized for that. When you try to get the foreign investment, you're criticized for that. The Government is acting with good faith. Everything that is signed or initialed will be put out to the public. There will be no confidentiality, and not secret deals."