The Bahamas Touches Down In Suriname

PARAMARIBO, SURINAME – The 43rd regular CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting is scheduled to officially begin tomorrow in Suriname. Prime Minister Philip Davis, along with a Bahamian delegation arrived in Suriname early this morning.

Our Sasha Lightbourne and Terran Knowles arrived in Suriname early this morning as well and have already taken a tour of the main city .

A short tour through the city of Paramaribo, Suriname with Preshan as our tour guide, took Our News to many historical sites.

The city is abuzz as Preshan informed Our News that many of the hotels are filled to capacity as a result of the CARICOM meeting being held. That is evidenced by many welcome to CARICOM flags and banners erected throughout the city.

Preshan also took the time to educate Our News, noting that Suriname has its own oil and other natural resources. We had a chance to visit the oldest wooden Catholic church, got a birds eye view of Palmentuin Gardens and saw the president’s cabinet building and the presidential palace.

Suriname much like The Bahamas, is a young country only gaining independence in 1975. Now, the predominant language here is Dutch but they also speak English.

Our News also saw one of the main African markets in Paramaribo city.

Officials from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Grenada, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Barbados, Belize, Dominica and others are expected to be in town for this CARICOM meeting – the first regular meeting held in two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.