One of the smallest yet most ethni-cally diverse and ecologically sig-nificant nations in Latin America

is also one of the Caribbean’s top econom-ic performers. The World Bank recentlyranked Suriname among the 10 potential-ly richest countries. Indeed its wealth of nat-ural resources is vast yet still largelyunexplored, and the country is a net ex-porter of agricultural products. Tourism isgrowing, as more people become aware ofits pristine rainforests and eco-tourismpossibilities, while its geographic locationpositions the country as a real contenderas a regional logistics hub.

Formerly occupied by the British andthe Dutch, Suriname’s history as an agri-cultural center resulted in slaves and cheaplabor being brought in first from Africa, thenfrom the Dutch East Indies (now Indone-sia), British India, China and the MiddleEast. This importing of cultures, in addi-tion to the Europeans, Amerindians andimmigrants from Brazil, has made Suri-

name today one of the most ethnically andculturally diverse countries on the planet,condensed into a population of just half amillion people.

While Suriname may not hold promi-nence on the global market due to its geo-graphical size, it does take an active role inregional trade and politics. Elected to of-fice in 2010, President Desiré DelanoBouterse has placed an emphasis on in-creasing south-south relations, especiallyinteracting more with neighbors Guyana,Venezuela and Brazil.

In January 2011, Suriname joined UNA-SUR, the Union of South American Na-tions, which is an inter-governmental unionthat integrates two existing customs unions:the Southern Cone Customs Union (Mer-cosur) and the Andean Community (CAN).

Looking slightly to the north, Mr.Bouterse is strengthening ties with theCaribbean Community and CommonMarket (Caricom), which he chaired dur-ing the first half of 2012.

In President Bouterse’s New Year mes-sage to Caricom, he stressed that the on-going economic crisis has no doubt takenits toll on member nations and has forcedthem to “take a hard look at the way weoperate, and accept changes that may benecessary.”

Nevertheless, he pointed out the silverlining to the situation is a chance forgreater cohesion among countries. “Wehave before us an opportunity to bindourselves even closer together. For, sure-ly, we stand a better chance to confrontthese challenges as a group united, thaneach swimming alone against the tide.”

Later, in April, at the Sixth Summit ofthe Americas held in Cartagena de Indias,Colombia , President Bouterse again spokeof regional unity, this time stressing thepotential the region boasts: “The enor-mous potential of the region in terms ofour vast wealth of natural resources, ourenvironmental riches including biodiver-sity, our human capital, multiculturalism,stable democracies, our growing privatesector, and political and economic dy-namism of our region – all these providesome of the most essential elements forthe gradual realization of the call to re-gional leaders to make this decade ‘TheDecade of the Americas’.”

SURINAMESolid fiscal policiessteady the economySee page 3

Friday, August 31, 2012

A global leader insustainable forestrySee page 7

Discover untappednatural resourcesSee page 4

Major infrastructureand public worksSee page 11

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT

As a member of both UNASUR and Cari-com, Suriname is committed to encour-aging deeper regional ties. During his

six-month chairmanship of Caricom at the be-ginning of this year, President Desiré DelanoBouterse seized the opportunity to call for clos-er relations within the Caricom union throughvarious demonstrations of Suriname’s econom-ic diplomacy. It hosted numerous meetings andconferences that promoted unity among theregion’s businesses and also its youth.

Further afield, Suriname’s desire for increasedinteractions is no less apparent. On June 21, dele-gations representing the United States and Suri-name initialed the first open-skies agreementbetween the two nations. Once in full operation,the new agreement will allow the airlines of bothcountries to fly to, from, and beyond each other’sterritory, without restrictions on the frequency offlights, the kind of aircraft carriers use, and theirability to offer discount fares. The agreement re-places an outdated aviation arrangement dating backto 1957, which was actually signed between the U.S.and the Netherlands, Suriname’s former colonialruler, and aims to strengthen and expand trade

and tourism links between the two countries. It al-so opens the possibility of code-sharing agree-ments between American and Surinamese airlines.

U.S. Ambassador to Suriname John R. Nay be-lieves that the agreement, which the U.S. also haswith 105 other countries, represents a win-winsituation for both sides.

The U.S. opened its first consulate in Suri-name in 1790. Diplomatic relations have beenin place since Suriname gained independencefrom the Dutch on November 25, 1975. TheSouth American nation has since strengthenedits global links via membership of various orga-nizations, including the United Nations, the Or-

ganization of American States, the Inter-Amer-ican Development Bank, the World Bank, andthe International Monetary Fund.

Suriname’s efforts in recent years to liberal-ize its economic policy have created new pos-sibilities for U.S. exports and investments inareas such as chemicals, vehicles, machine parts,meat, and wheat. The U.S. remains one of Suri-name’s principal trading partners, largely due toAlcoa’s longstanding investment in Suriname’sbauxite mining and processing industry with itsSuralco mining company. Several other U.S. cor-porations, represented by Surinamese firms, areactive in Suriname, largely in the mining, con-sumer goods, and service sectors.

“We value our relationship with the U.S. veryhighly,” says Subhas Chandra Mungra, Suri-name’s Ambassador to the U.S. “From a histor-ical point of view, the U.S. was one of the firstcountries to open a consulate in Suriname. Dur-ing the Second World War, we produced 70%of the bauxite used to build aircraft to fight theGermans and the Japanese. We have about 20agreements signed with the U.S., which includenarco-traffic and anti-terrorism collaborations.”

Bringing the world closer together

2012, year of action and achievements

See this report at worldfolio.co.uk

A Pivotal Catalyst for Unity in the Caricom Region

‘We have before usan opportunity tobind ourselveseven closertogether. For, surely, westand a betterchance to confrontthese challengesas a group united,than eachswimming aloneagainst the tide.

Desiré Delano Bouterse, President of Suriname

Leaders from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) meet annuallyto strengthen regional alliances

During its six-month chairmanship ofthe Caribbean Community (Caricom)in the first half of 2012, Suriname put

changes in motion to revitalize the regionalunion. Agendas of the heads-of-state meetingswere smaller and with a greater focus on mat-ters of importance and projects for which fi-nancing had already been secured. Newarrangements were sought to reduce the region’sdependence on outside financial institutions,and Suriname encouraged increased cooper-ation among the region’s private entities.

Since becoming a full member of Caricomon July 4, 1995, Suriname has played an inte-gral part in the regional integration process.Suriname’s president at the time of its acces-sion to the community, Ronald Runaldo Vene-tiaan, set out the tone of the country’scommitment to fortifying the links in the unionthat continues to this day. In his address at theOpening Ceremony of the Sixteenth Meetingof the Conference in Georgetown, he affirmed:“Suriname casts its lot with that of Caricom inthe effort for a sustainable development of oureconomies in the fight against poverty for thepurpose of heightening the standard of livingin our region… Suriname has joined the fam-ily of Caribbean nations so as to advance to-gether with the peoples of the Caribbeantowards the future, not too distant from now,where the promise of welfare, peace and sta-bility for the entire community will be fulfilled.”

A CONSTANT COMMITMENTSuriname’s political leaders continue to urgefellow Caricom members to show their com-mitment to strengthening the union by devel-oping deeper ties with each other for bothsocial and economic reasons. Winston Lackin,Suriname’s current Minister of Foreign Affairs,describes his nation as “a friendly, open coun-try with a rich culture and diversity with a his-tory” and takes a look at the efforts made inforging greater regional integration by “one ofthe unique investment opportunities on theSouth American continent”.

Over the past few years, Suriname hasachieved a series of milestones in its socio-economic development and maintains its po-sition as one of the top economic performersin the Caribbean. Its progress has been partic-ularly notable since the new administrationcame into power in 2010.

“When we took over government two yearsago, we made some decisions based on our ge-ographical location. We decided that our firstfocus should be on integration in the region,”says Mr. Lackin. “For the first time in history,we were obliged to develop the country with-out any aid, which we received when Surinamegained independence in 1975. That meant thatwe had to take development into our ownhands. Based on that, we established a foreignpolicy that is related to our natural resourcesand level of education, and where we want tobe within the next 10 years.”

THE GOOD NEIGHBORSuriname’s regional integration policy is basedon economic diplomacy and includes capital-izing on its position as both a South Americancountry and a member of organizations suchas Caricom. Suriname is also in the enviableposition of neighboring one of the larger BRICcountries: Brazil, the sixth-largest economy inthe world. Another opportunity that has notbeen tapped into and is currently in the gov-ernment’s sights is access to European mar-kets via French Guiana and its closecross-continental links.

Mr. Lackin explains: “We have been lookingat our borders and cooperating with our neigh-bors: that has been our main focus of foreignpolicy. As a small economy, you have to avoidissues with your neighbors, so we decided thatwe should look at what unites us and leave be-hind what divides us. We are focusing on ourrelations with Guyana, because Suriname andGuyana are two very similar nations. We aim

to be the bridge between Caricom and UNA-SUR, the Union of South American Nations,building on our access to the market we havehad for the past 50 years.”

Increasing the country’s infrastructure is im-portant. Without it, no development can takeplace. As such, Suriname is looking to boostits physical connections with the region and iscarrying out a study for a bridge to link Suri-name with Guyana.

Mr. Lackin says, “We are dealing with theBrazilians regarding a connection with thesouthern part of Suriname and the northern

part of Brazil because we are convinced thatthis will give us the opportunity to tap into ournatural resources. In this regard, we are invit-ing the private sector from outside Caricom andUNASUR to be part of what we want to do herewhen it comes to economic development. Weare not just looking for investors; we are look-ing for partners in development.”

PRESIDENTIAL CALL FOR UNITY AND COOPERATION One of the ideas introduced by PresidentBouterse during his role as Chairman of Cari-com was the creation of Caricom Enterprises.

The aim is to encourage privatesector companies within Cari-com to work together andmaximize each other’sstrengths. “We want to createour own financial instrumentsbased on our natural resources,technology and our own youngpeople, and bring the privatesector together. We have suc-ceeded in doing that. We havesucceeded in connecting SouthAmerican companies withsome very important projects,”says Mr. Lackin. “If you do nothave unity and cooperation,you cannot guarantee sustain-able development. Our formercolonizers taught us to livepeacefully side-by-side, but noone taught us to live with eachother. That is what we are re-ally looking at. We are the on-ly country in this region thathas this mix of people, culturesand religions. We are very hap-py that there have never beenconflicts like there have been

in other parts of the world. We are looking atbringing regions together. We want to use ourrich cultural and ethnic diversity to be a fun-damental supporter of our economic devel-opment.”

ENCOURAGING YOUTH IN POLITICSIn June, President Bouterse hosted the firstever high-level Caricom-UNASUR youth ex-change. The President chaired a meeting heldunder the theme ‘Youth Participation for theDevelopment of our Region; Developing ourRegion Through Cultural Connections’. Dur-ing the exchange that the President himselfhad initiated, he challenged 32 Caricom YouthAmbassadors and the youth leaders from the12-member UNASUR to get more involved inthe representational politics of their regions.

“You are called upon not only to be polit-ically savvy but to become involved in thepolitics of your regions. It is an importantpart of being a responsible citizen,” the Pres-ident affirmed during the two-day gather-ing. “We need a social revolution and strongtransformational and political leadership toachieve this revolution.”

President Bouterse urged youth leadersto make a difference in the region as trans-formational leaders, highlighting that theymust think creatively and visualize the kindof world in which they wanted to live. ThePresident said, “As creative thinkers, youmust not only challenge the status quo butencourage creativity among your peers. Youare called upon to explore new ways of do-ing things, introduce innovations and cre-ate new opportunities to learn.”

He added, “We are committed to helpingyou, but to whom much is given, much is ex-pected.”

The exchange was also used as a platform topromote the successes of Caricom youth anddemonstrate how they are integrated in polit-ical decision-making processes. It also threwthe spotlight on youth leaders from UNASUR,the Caricom Youth Ambassador Program, andalso Suriname’s Youth Parliament model ofyouth governance, which has been singled outas a regional best practice.

Encouraging greater private-sector interac-tion, the installation of the Caricom Youth Am-bassadors, and launching the first youthexchange summit between Caricom and UNA-SUR are regarded as some of the top achieve-ments of Suriname’s six-month turn at thehelm of Caricom. According to PresidentBouterse: “Suriname has tried to build a bridgebetween the Caricom and the UNASUR be-cause we deem this as the biggest challenge giv-en the economic, social, political and culturalintegration between our nations and people.”

SURINAME GREENSuriname is in the middle of the Amazon re-gion and more than 90% of the country is cov-ered by tropical rainforest. The 5% of Suriname’sland that is actually in use is along its coast,which means the hinterlands are mostly emp-ty. Economic development that leverages Suri-name’s natural assets while maintaining itsstatus as the greenest nation on Earth is the fo-cus of Suriname Green, the government’s guid-ing principle for balanced policymaking andinvestment in its 2012-2017 five-year develop-ment plan.

“Currently we are looking for something veryspecific: technical assistance,” says Mr. Lackin.“We are aware that we will all be in danger ifthere is no change in behavior and that climatechange will affect us. We want to sell ‘green’. Inaddition, we are working with some technicaluniversities in the U.S. on some medical planswe can use for our objectives. The prospectsare very positive.”

The government is creating five specializedagencies within the new green developmentframework that will cover areas such as health,education and the environment.

NURTURING GROWTH FROM AGRICULTUREAs a small country surrounded by nations withlarger mineral deposits that have traditional-ly attracted greater mining interest, the Suri-namese government decided that agricultureshould form the basis of the country’s sustain-able development. Suriname has been an im-portant exporter of agriculture for over 300years. Furthermore, it is estimated that in 2050there will be more than 10 billion people onthe planet, who will need to be fed.

“We have arable land, enough potable wa-ter and plenty of year-round sunshine, whichis very important for agricultural development,”comments Mr. Lackin. “Whatever we earnfrom the mining sector should be invested inagriculture and education. We have lots of nat-ural resources, but the most important re-sources are human beings. So that meansinvestment in education and health. Only thatwill guarantee that we will be in a better posi-tion to bring ourselves up to world prices. Thatmeans food security, job creation and gettingpeople into agriculture and our educationalsystem. We have made that very clear.”

THE POTENTIAL FOR PARTNERSHIPS Florida and Miami are known in the region asbeing the capitals of the Caribbean and LatinAmerica in the U.S. Moves such as the recent-ly announced open-skies agreement betweenthe U.S. and Suriname aim to expand two-waytraffic and relationships between the two coun-tries.

“Every time we go abroad, either the Presi-dent or myself, we make sure we bring repre-sentatives of the private sector with us to seeif we can make connections happen muchfaster,” says Mr. Lackin. “We are also offeringmarket access together with the private sectorin Suriname within Caricom. We want to useour geographical position and membership ofCaricom to get into the region’s markets. Thatis why part of our policy is to make sure thatour financial system is clear and sound, so thatpeople know what our economy is like andwhat is possible and what is not.”

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT2

‘Our regional integrationpolicy is based oneconomic diplomacy’The government used its six-month chairmanship of Caricom to spurfurther economic and commercial unity in the region and highlightSuriname’s accessibility to major markets for foreign investors

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‘We aim to be the bridgebetween Caricom andUNASUR, building on ouraccess to the marketwe have had for thepast 50 years.

Our financial system isclear and sound, so people know what oureconomy is like andwhat is possible.

We are not just lookingfor investors; we arelooking for partners indevelopment.

Winston Lackin, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Suriname and Caricom

Mckeeva BushCayman Islands

Hubert IngrahamThe Bahamas

Baldwin SpencerAntigua & Barbuda

Osbourne FlemingAnguilla

Reuben MeadeMontserrat

Roosevelt SkerritDominica

Dean BarrowBelize

Portia Simpson MillerJamaica

Kamla Persad-BissessarTrinidad & Tobago

Donald RamotarGuyana

Kenny AnthonySt. Lucia

Orlando SmithBritish Virgin Islands

Paula CoxBermuda

Denzil DouglasSt. Kitts & Nevis

Tillman ThomasGrenada

Ralph GonsalvesSt. Vincent & the Grenadines

Michel MartellyHaiti

Freundel StuartBarbados

Desi BouterseSuriname

Irwin LarocqueCaricom SG

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT 3

The government’s plans for much-needed infrastructural works were evi-dent in its 2012 budget, which provides for

the construction of more low-income housing, aswell as the repair and building of roads, bridgesand state-owned schools. Suriname’s low level ofnational debt, at around 28% of GDP, and a steadyimprovement in its fiscal position, mean that thegovernment can afford to take on more debt tofinance new investment in the major infrastruc-ture projects it has in mind.

Fortunately, investor confidence in Surinamehas been given a boost by the implementation lastyear of tough fiscal measures designed to main-tain economic stability and establish an attractive,secure environment for international investors.

“We have to look for the financing for all ourmajor, mostly infrastructural projects. We haveto build our public-private partnerships (PPPs),and we have to adjust and strengthen our tax sys-tem,” says Minister of Finance, Adelien Wijner-man. “We now have a closer relationship with theCentral Bank to coordinate the country’s fiscal andmonetary policies, and do all those projects thatwe are now trying to develop.”

There are plans to establish an investment unitwithin the Ministry of Finance to capitalize onthe experience held by some of its employeeswho were previously part of the former Ministryof Planning and Development Cooperation. Thenew unit will provide foreign investors with helpsetting up shop in Suriname, coordinating all the

various investments in thecountry. It will be working withthe many international organi-zations keen to enter Surinameand also be involved in man-aging PPPs.

According to the nationaldebt law, the Minister of Fi-nance is responsible for thesignature and official approvalof financing agreements. Ap-plications from ministries forfunds to be allocated to theirvarious programs and projectshave to be submitted throughthe Ministry of Finance and, if applicable, thenforwarded on to any international financial or-ganizations involved, for example the EU or theInter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The IDB is one of the organizations providingassistance to the Ministry of Finance in setting upthe new investment unit. The two entities are al-so in collaboration on various other projects. InFebruary, the Finance Minister and IDB Presi-dent Luis Alberto Moreno signed the contractsfor two loans totaling US$20 million to help fi-nance a conditional cash transfers program andthe national census and household survey. Suri-name’s Social Protection Support Program willbenefit from a loan of US$15 million to supportthe government’s efforts to enhance the effective-ness of spending on social protection programs.The program will finance grants to poor pregnantwomen, new mothers, and the parents of poor chil-dren, benefiting up to 15,000 households by 2015.The aim of the initiative is to invest in children’snutrition, health and education during their cru-cial formative years and break the intergenerationaltransmission of poverty.

In addition, a US$5 million loan is to supportthe National Population and Housing Census andHousehold Budget Survey, which will update thedemographic, social, economic, and cultural in-formation available on Suriname.

More recently, in June, a US$13.7 million loanto modernize Suriname’s new basic educationsystem and help schoolchildren achieve betterlearning results was also approved by the IDB.

In addition to being bolstered by collabora-tions with global entities, investor confidence hasalso been lifted by the independent technocratsthat head the central bank – Centrale Bank vanSuriname, CBS – and their closer relations with

the Ministry of Finance to create more solid, trans-parent banking and financial sectors.

“The Central Bank currently is involved in a ma-jor process of strengthening and modernizing it-self, which means that we have been doing a loton capacity building,” says Gillmore Hoefdraad,Governor of the CBS, who has advocated new lawsthat improve the supervision of the country’s fi-nancial system, insurance sector, money-transferoperators and foreign exchanges. “The Ministryof Finance and the Central Bank work very close-ly together. We think alike and we remind thegovernment that they cannot spend whateverthey want, that they have to live by their means.We have a couple of working rules that are pro-ducing very good results. It is very important thatthe Central Bank knows what the Ministry of Fi-nance is doing, and we, as the cashier of the state,have the full picture of the economy.”

At the IDB’s annual meeting of board gover-nors that was held in Uruguay in March, Mr. Hoef-draad highlighted Suriname’s progress and solidfiscal framework, adding: “Transparency of gov-ernment operations is a high priority for our gov-ernment, and we are working with regionalpartners to strengthen statistical data systems innational accounts, public finance, balance of pay-ments, and monetary statistics. Already, muchdata can be accessed online on the CBS’s webpage.”

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Surinamerose from US$163 million in 2006 to US$585 mil-lion last year. The combination of a steady improve-ment in the fiscal position of Suriname, anincreasingly stable monetary environment and amore honed supervision of the currency marketsshould allow for a more conducive environmentfor investment and production to emerge andFDI to continue to rise.

Quoted‘We are revisingthe tax regimeand sustainableproductionshould get some

tax facilities.’Winston Caldeira,Director of the Investment andDevelopment Corporation

‘The governmenthas stated that2012 is ‘the yearof action’. We expect an

extension of IAMGOLD’sgold concession and thestart of SURGOLD’soperation.’Rene Van Essen, Director of the Suriname Trade &Industry Association (VerenigingSurinaams Bedrijfsleven)

‘We have a lowincome shelterand we worktogether withNGOs to improve

the housing situation.’Alice Amafo, Minister of Social Affairsand Housing

‘Neighboringone of the BRICcountries meansSuriname canbecome a very

interesting hub not onlyfor the region but also forthe U.S. and pan-Americas.’Henk Naarendorp,Chairman of the SurinameBusiness Forum and President of the Chamber ofCommerce & Industry

‘Our strongpoint is thegrowingpotential andflexibility of our

65% young population.’Raymond Sapoen, Minister of Trade & Industry

‘The Suriname-South DakotaStatePartnershipProgram is

considered to be a goodproject for Suriname.’ Lamuré Latour, Minister of Defense

Suriname’s solid monetary policy: fostering an optimal business climate

Since 2000, sustained economic growth anddiversification efforts in its dominant min-ing industry, along with stabilizing policies

from the government, have developed Surinamefrom a low to an upper-middle income country.Its GDP per capita rose from just US$1,500 in 2001to US$8,400 in 2011. Macroeconomic proficien-cy demonstrated by the government’s stability-oriented policies also brought annual inflationdown from more than 100% in 2000 to 3.6% in May2012. As a result, Suriname was one of the few coun-tries last year that received a positive assessmentand outlook from the IMF in its annual report.

On July 10, 2012, Fitch Ratings raised Suri-name’s long-term issuer default rating (IDR) – ameasure of an entity’s credit risk – to ‘BB-’ with a‘stable’ outlook. The agency stated the upgrade“reflects the Surinamese authorities’ demon-strated commitment to rein in fiscal imbalancesand maintain price and exchange rate stability, aswell as the country’s positive investment cycleand growth prospects. Suriname’s ratings are al-so underpinned by the strength of the sovereign’sfiscal and external balance sheets relative to peers.”

Similarly, in May, Standard & Poor’s also award-ed the country’s credit quality a ‘BB-/Stable’ rat-ing and its “improving macroeconomicfundamentals”. S&P noted that in January 2011Suriname’s government took “unpopular, but nec-essary, measures to correct economic imbalancesthat had built up during 2010 (an election year)through a fuel tax increase and devaluation of theSuriname dollar”, whose value was reduced by20%. In addition, last July the government reachedan agreement with the United States to clear thelast remaining arrears on its bilateral debt.

“Strong policy measures had to be taken in or-der to improve the fiscal accounts,” Gillmore Hoef-draad, Governor of Suriname’s Central Bank, toldthe Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) inMarch. “One year later, we are looking at a stableexchange rate, an increase in international re-serves of 30%, a sharp reduction in the fiscal deficit,

and the clearing of all arrears with bilateral anddomestic creditors. Last year, S&P and Fitch up-graded Suriname, even as other countries in theregion and beyond faced serious downgrades oftheir sovereign debt.”

Steady GDP growth of 4.4% in both 2010 and2011 looks set to continue, as medium-term eco-nomic expansion is projected to be sustained be-tween 4% and 5%, supported by large investmentsexpected to be made in the near future in the gold,alumina and oil sectors.

Suriname’s small, open economy depends heav-ily on its mining industry – contributions madeby alumina, gold and oil mining to total exportsamounts to 95%, and total tax and non-tax rev-enues account for more than 35% of fiscal revenues.However, foreign investors looking at enteringSuriname should also be aware of the huge growthpotential in the country’s agriculture and tourismsectors, and particularly anything connected toenvironmental protection and development.

Wary of external shocks to the nation’s econo-my caused by fluctuations of global commodityprices, President Desiré Bouterse announced inhis New Year’s speech the establishment of a sov-ereign wealth fund that will provide savings forfuture generations and create a stronger Suriname.

Committed to strengthening the financial sec-tor and its supervision, the Central Bank, work-ing closely with the Ministry of Finance, has passeda long-overdue modernization of banking legis-lation, which is to be followed up with a similarmove in the insurance and non-banking sectors.

“Come to Suriname and discover mutual ben-efits,” says Adelien Wijnerman, Suriname’s Min-ister of Finance. “We have a lot to offer – not onlyin mining, but also in other sectors, such as eco-tourism. We want to develop our country and tosustain economic growth. We can’t do it alone, sowe need to find partners to come and support andjoin us, not only financially, but also through know-how that will support and develop our expertise.”

Ratings agencies praise astute fiscal policies that have stabilized theeconomy and foreign exchange rates, boosted reserves, raisedindustrial production, increased exports, and balanced the economy

‘I have oftenlinked bothcountries’history anddiversity, and

the similarities betweenthe U.S. and Suriname.’John R. Nay, U.S. Ambassador to Suriname

‘We are lookingforward toinviting more U.S. investors tothe agriculture

and mining sector.’Subhas Chandra Mungra, Suriname’s Ambassadorto the U.S.

Adelien Wijnerman, Suriname’s Minister of Finance

Gillmore Hoefdraad, Governor of theCentral Bank of Suriname

Suriname enjoys social and economicstability, and boasts one of thelowest public debt profiles in theregion, which is fortunate, asfinancing the national reconstructionplan will take international teamworkand public-private partnerships

Open to foreign partners in financing the path to sustainable growth

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT4

Invest in Suriname’s untapped natural resources

With one of the most diverseecosystems in the world,Suriname must strike the

right balance between exploiting itsnatural resources and preserving theenvironment.

Various U.S. organizations and in-stitutions promote technical coop-eration with the government ofSuriname to help protect the tropi-cal rainforest, while numerous NorthAmerican experts work closely withlocal natural resource officials to pro-mote the sustainable development ofthe Surinamese hinterland. This isespecially important given that thecountry’s immense mineral wealthhas opened the way for mining as amajor economic activity.

From gold, iron ore and manganeseto bauxite, phosphate and kaolin,Suriname’s minerals hold great po-tential, and once the Ministry of Nat-ural Resources completes the newgeophysical map (which will replacethe one currently in use that is basedon material from 30 years ago), in-vestors will have a veritable ‘treasure map’ to fol-low. Other minerals with potential for explorationinclude diamonds, platinum, uranium, nickel andcopper.

Oil is another important breadwinner for Suri-name, and discoveries offshore neighboringFrench Guyana bode well for the South Ameri-can nation. Furthermore, Suriname’s recently ex-panded economic zone at sea could mean anadded 150-mile-wide belt of offshore deposits.

Back on land, timber represents yet anothermoney earner, but again, sustainable manage-ment of forests is key to future earnings. IwanSno, Director of the Statistics Department, ex-plains how both the Surinamese governmentand companies are protecting the country’s

forests: “Important things have been done inthe forestry sector over the past two decades,including the Forest Policy, a significant mile-stone that has guided the industry these pastseveral years. The government is very seriousabout shrewd and practical forest managementand the companies in the sector have put prop-er emphasis on the matter.”

For Suriname, a key part of the sustainable de-velopment of the natural resources is the use oflocal talent. Jim Hok, Natural Resources Minis-ter, says Suriname is keen on creating universityexchange programs with Florida and Canada,and is expanding local education opportunitiesfor mining and oil and gas sector studies. “We needore experience in the mineral sector and wetlands

management – which Florida largely specializesin. Next year, the School of Mineral and Miningstarts for middle and higher education in min-erals and mining. We want to train our own pro-fessionals, guided by international experts. Also,our university is expanding; they now have a spe-cial degree for the oil industry in cooperationwith our state oil company,” says Mr. Hok.

Dr. Ryan Sidin, President of Anton de KomUniversity, is also optimistic about the role of theSurinamese in developing local resources. Hesays, “Given the abundance in natural resources,combined with the small population, there istremendous space for development. Based onthose two aspects there is sufficient basis for sig-nificant growth of the Surinamese economy.”

SSuurriinnaammee iiss pprroojjeecctteedd ttoo bbee tthhee ttoopp eeccoonnoomm--iicc ppeerrffoorrmmeerr ffoorr tthhee rreeggiioonn iinn 22001122,, wwiitthh aa44..55%% ggrroowwtthh.. HHooww ddoo yyoouu sseeee SSuurriinnaammee aass aanneexxaammppllee ttoo ffoollllooww iinn tthhee rreeggiioonn??

The economic growth in the Caribbeanduring the recent decades has mostly comefrom the development of tourism and per-haps small industries (with the exception ofTrinidad, which has oil and gas). For Suri-name, the growth we have witnessed over thepast 20 years has largely been from the min-ing sector (specifically, oil and gold). While itis true that tourism is also a growing sectorin Suriname, the oil business is growing evenfaster.

During the 2008/09 crisis, these differencesbecame even more pronounced. I believe thatthey cannot really be compared. In theCaribbean, the impact of the crisis was strong-ly felt because of the decline in tourist volume.Suriname, on the other hand, was not as af-fected because it had oil and gold to carry itthrough.

SSuurriinnaammee’’ss yyoouunngg ooiill iinndduussttrryy iiss oonnee ooff iittssmmoosstt pprroommiissiinngg aasssseettss.. HHooww iiss tthhee ggoovveerrnn--mmeenntt wwoorrkkiinngg ttoo mmaaxxiimmiizzee tthhee ppootteennttiiaall ooff tthhiissiinndduussttrryy??

The oil industry in Suriname is a fruitful one.We are currently expanding a refinery here,of which state oil company Staatsolie is thesole operator. The concession for the wholecountry is theirs and any group looking to ex-plore opportunities in the country’s oil indus-try has to go through them.

Onshore, Staatsolie is quite busy withdrilling and exploration work. They also havesome nearshore ventures, which are oftendone with other companies. They have notquite gone into offshore and deep-sea projects.

The potential of the Suriname oil indus-try is quite clear. Together with Brazil’s Agen-cia Nacional do Petroleo, Gas Natural e

Biocombustive is (ANP) and the U.S. oil reg-ulatory body, we are already working towardsestablishing some regulations. It is necessaryto do that because, as it has been found be-fore in other countries, once you have foundoil, the pace at which regulations are passedare crucial. It is about this stage that peopleand organizations rapidly change. Ordinarily,regulations are the last thing to change.

We have onshore, nearshore and offshoreoperations. The country was granted the per-mission to add another 150 miles to its eco-nomic zone at sea. This gives us a total of 350miles before the coast. Oil companies look atthe history of the continents, in terms of howthey were together a long time ago, and howthey were eventually divided. They found alot of oil in Africa (in the places where the coastof Guyana connected to Africa). That is wherethe potential was initially found, and sincethen, has been proven to be the genuine arti-cle. For us, we still have a lot to explore.

HHooww wwoouulldd yyoouu ddeessccrriibbee tthhee nnaattuurraall rreessoouurrcceessiinndduussttrryy??

The development of natural resources inSuriname is relatively new, except for somespecific resources like bauxite, which has beengoing on for almost 100 years. In fact, beforeand during WWII, 80% of the airplanes thatflew at the time were made from Surinamesealuminum.

In the mineral sector, we are in the processof putting together a geophysical map to de-velop a plant. Furthermore, we are exploringthe opportunities of our renewable resourcesfor energy production, such as solar energyand hydro energy.

SSuurriinnaammee hhaass aa rroobbuusstt mmiinniinngg sseeccttoorr;; ppaarrttiicc--uullaarrllyy,, iinn tthhee aarreeaass ooff ggoolldd aanndd bbaauuxxiittee..

Right now, we have Suralco, which runs abauxite plant in Lelydorp near Paramaribo, and

two internationally recognized gold compa-nies: IAMGOLD Corporation and NewMontMining Corporation. They are all doing wellin the industry. There’s also Moengo Miner-als N.V., a new Surinamese company that istapping into kaolin. At the moment, they’rethe company with the most experience inkaolin exploration in Suriname.

WWhhaatt ddooeess tthhee mmiinneerraallss iinndduussttrryy nneeeedd ttoo ffuurr--tthheerr iittss ggrroowwtthh??

We would like to welcome more junior com-panies to explore greenfield areas. They canlook into untouched areas on the map, andstart things from the ground up. The big play-ers come in when it starts getting interesting.We need more attention from the greenfieldoperators.

AAppaarrtt ffrroomm ooiill,, ggoolldd,, aanndd bbaauuxxiittee,, wwhhiicchh mmiinn--eerraallss hhoolldd tthhee mmoosstt ppootteennttiiaall??

Looking at the map of Suriname, manganeselooks promising. A large manganese mine isnow being built in Guyana, and there is no rea-son to suspect that the manganese would stopat the bordering river. There have also beeninteresting indications of copper and phos-phate in the west. We have very interestingkaolin deposits in different parts of the coun-try, including the east where we have the baux-ite mines. There is also uranium.

PPrreessiiddeenntt BBoouutteerrssee ssaayyss tthhaattSSuurriinnaammee iiss oonnee ooff tthheeggrreeeenneesstt ppllaacceess oonn eeaarrtthh..WWhhaatt iiss bbeeiinngg ddoonnee ffoorr tthheessuussttaaiinnaabbllee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooffnnaattuurraall rreessoouurrcceess??

When he called the coun-try the greenest nation, itwas an expression of Suri-name’s commitment to en-vironmentally friendlyprocesses.

Some significant forestrypolicies have been put inplace, including a push fora broader stakeholder in-volvement (starting fromthe grass-roots level), andthe way the forest rehabili-tates itself.

At the beginning of lastyear, we established a com-mission dedicated to creat-ing legislations for the goldsector.

The commission regu-lates the small-scale miner,and informs them about thedetails of the Mining Act.

By the end of this year, the goal is to im-pose a 100% ban on mercury. As we speak,a training program is being implemented.Small schools are being put up to educatethe garimpeiros and small-scale miners onmethods of deriving gold without mercuryto get even more results.

This is particularly important because ofthe high numbers of people who are work-ing in the small-scale gold sector. We havearound 35,000 small-scale gold miners whoproduce annually more gold than the twomultinationals in the country combined.

IInn tteerrmmss ooff mmiinniinngg,, FFlloorriiddaa,, bbyy iittsseellff,, pprroo--dduucceess aa qquuaarrtteerr ooff tthhee wwoorrlldd’’ss pphhoosspphhaatteenneeeeddss.. DDoo yyoouu tthhiinnkk tthhaatt tthheerree iiss aa ppoossssiibbiill--iittyy ffoorr aa ppaarrttnneerrsshhiipp tthheerree??

As for strategic partnerships, the wholemineral sector is open for that. Phosphateis one of the minerals that need to be devel-oped. There is also copper and manganese.

The first companies to come here to ex-plore untapped minerals will probably be-come among the largest in Suriname overtime. Look at IAMGOLD, for example. Itwas not the first company, but it was thefirst that came in with big money.

We need to bring new minerals to the sur-face. That is a promising endeavor for allcompanies in the mining sector.

West Africa and north-east South America were joined for much of their history and share thesame Proterozoic greenstone geology. The above figure is a palaeo-geographic reconstruction(ca. 115 Ma ago) showing the continental break-up and development of the proto-South AtlanticOcean. More than 90 million ounces of gold have been discovered to date in greenstones inVenezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guyana

After the Spanish discovery of America, many Europeans were attracted to Suriname, theland where, according to legend, the city of gold known as ‘El Dorado’ was situated.Currently, Suriname is in the process of putting together a geophysical map that wouldcontain the different indications of minerals in the soil

Suriname welcomesjunior explorationcompanies

‘Gold has alwaysplayed anintriguing role inhistory all overthe world. This isalso the case inSuriname. There have alsobeen interestingindications ofcopper andphosphate in thewest. We havevery interestingkaolin deposits indifferent parts ofthe country,including the east,where we havethe bauxite mines.

Jim Hok, Minister ofNatural Resources

Minister of Natural Resources Jim Hok speaksabout the significance of Suriname’s minerals

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT 5

Over the past number of years, foreignconsultants and companies have beenresponsible for completing the major-

ity of large or complex infrastructural worksthroughout the Caribbean and Latin Ameri-ca. The labor, equipment, facilities and know-how are often available in the countries inquestion, but are temporarily contracted toexpats in order to complete the works.

Hedi Infra Inc. is a 100% Surinamese com-pany based in Wanica that works closely withvarious foreign partners. It utilizes the years ofcollective expertise of its staff to design, installand administer modern, qualitative and durablesubterranean and overhead networks for Suri-name’s oil, utility and industrial sectors. As alocally owned and run enterprise, Hedi InfraInc. is open for more partnerships with inter-national companies looking for quality serviceand expertise in Suriname.

The company’s unrivalled experience hasmade it the partner of choice for top U.S. com-panies investing in Suriname. Its biggest jointventure currently under way is with the Mia-mi-based Amery Group LLC. “The greater partof our business with the Amery Group is in thedevelopment of the oil industry, meaning wewant to bring in modern oil rigs and train ourlocals to become oil and gas drillers,” says HenkDruiventak, Director of Hedi Infra Inc.

One of the long-term aims at Hedi Infra isto train local workers to ensure that interna-tional knowledge and expertise in technologyand infrastructure will be permanently avail-able to the local and regional markets. Thiswill be achieved through substantial invest-ment in materials, intensive and ongoing train-ing of skilled personnel, and a number ofcollaborations with renowned partners andsuppliers from leading companies in Europe andNorth America.

“All the business I do with the U.S. is throughMiami, and I have been doing that for the past17 years,” says Mr. Druiventak. “Everything Iexported from Holland, and bought fromAmerica, went to Suriname and the rest ofSouth America through Miami. I never usedany other harbor in the U.S. other than thePort of Miami. I have been doing business withcompanies in Miami, such as Cooper LatinAmerica, for many years.”

Hedi Infra also works with Polypipe, one ofthe largest polyethylene pipe producers in

North America, which supplies the companywith durable high-density polyethylene pip-ing to transport crude oil in Suriname’s swampareas. So, in partnership with the state oil com-pany Staatsolie, Hedi Infra has engineered newmethods of safely distributing crude oil in someof the country’s most environmentally sensi-tive regions.

“We have been able to introduce this newtechnique and train our people to do the weld-ing and construction,” says Mr. Druiventak.“The environment and wildlife there is veryprotected, but we can still extract oil. If weSurinamese keep in mind that we want to pro-tect the environment, we will have to use newtechniques to maintain our ecosystem, and thestate oil company is one of the leaders in thisprocess.”

The polyethylene pipe approach to trans-porting the oil is similar to that used in Texas.“We have good connections in the Texas oil in-dustry; we want to bring in a lot of knowledgeto create a special atmosphere to train ouryoungsters to drill oil with specially modifiedrigs, which need to operate in areas with shal-low wells and the near shore,” says Mr. Druiv-entak. “But the near shore is a very importantarea in Suriname because it contains a lot ofenvironmental issues. We have rare bird speciesand mangroves in that area, which we do notwant to damage. So the area could only be ap-proached in a very environmentally friendly waywith the existing resources to drill for oil inthat area, such as the new techniques for di-rectional drilling.”

Hedi Infra is now considered an expert com-pany in horizontal directional drilling, havingemployed the method since its early days. It isan ecologically sound process of constructingvarious types of underground infrastructure.It originated in the oil industry as a way toplace pipelines in a safe manner with minimaldamage to the surrounding area. It is particu-larly useful in urban, industrial or environmen-tally vulnerable areas, where obstacles such asbuildings, roads, waterways, trees or moun-tains may need to be crossed. Horizontal di-rectional drilling has proved to be ideal forlaying transport lines, cables or pipes for elec-tricity, sewerage or telecommunications with-out spoiling the beauty of Suriname.

Another technique that has emerged as agreat success for Hedi Infra is leak detection.

As subterranean networks are such expensiveundertakings, any form of preventative main-tenance is preferable in order to ensure that acostly investment for any company is also adurable one. The leak detection method em-ployed by Hedi Infra allows the company to in-expensively and effectively inspect leaks inpipes, saving both the company and its clientsa substantial amount of capital.

The technological gap that exists betweenSuriname and the United States or Europe canbe easily bridged by training local experts andpermanently presenting novel technologicalapplications, in addition to the already estab-lished techniques employed by the local skilledworkforce, as demonstrated by Hedi Infra.Through this training, Hedi Infra wants to con-tinue contributing to the nation’s developmentwith pioneering, efficient, and relatively inex-pensive technological solutions that will in-crease investment in various industries, notjust the oil sector, such as infrastructure, con-struction and tourism.

Over the coming years Hedi Infra aims to be-come the knowledge center and local providerof all subterranean and overhead utility net-works, with plans to expand throughout LatinAmerica and the Caribbean in time.

Mr. Druiventak views the expertise andknowledge of European and American com-panies as the key to Hedi Infra’s long-term suc-cess and hopes to encourage more skilledvisitors to come to Suriname. “We would liketo see more students from the United Statesand our South American neighbors in Suri-name. It will create a bond, a serious opportu-nity for our people to develop themselves to ahigher scale, and ultimately create an environ-ment where more of these countries are in-vesting in Suriname,” he says.

Can you dig it?Hedi Infra Inc., a 100% Surinamese company,has emerged as the partner of choice for LatinAmerican and North American companiesinterested in horizontal drilling andinfrastructure in the Caribbean

Our biggest jointventure at themoment is with theAmery Group... All thebusiness I do withthe U.S. is throughMiami, and I havebeen doing that forthe past 17 years...We have goodconnections in theTexas oil industry;we want to bring in alot of knowledge totrain our youngstersto drill oil withspecial rigs, whichoperate inenvironmentallysensitive areas.

Henk Druiventak Director of Hedi Infra Inc.

‘

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT6

In its role as agent of the State with respon-sibility for the petroleum industry, Staatsoliehas to assess Suriname’s offshore hydrocar-

bon potential and attract qualified internation-al oil companies, negotiate contracts andmonitor the execution of these contracts. Openblocks are made available through competi-tive bidding rounds or direct negotiations. In-ternational oil companies operating in Surinamepresently include Inpex, Murphy Oil, KosmosEnergy, Tullow Oil and Statoil.

The offshore reserves off the coast of theGuiana Shield are considered possibly the mostattractive unexplored basin in the world. Off-shore Suriname is virtually unexplored, withonly 25 exploration wells drilled in an area ofapproximately 150,000 square kilometers.

The presence of hydrocarbons within thebasin was proven by the discovery of morethan 1 billion barrels of oil (before produc-tion commenced) in the Tambaredjo Field.As a result several international oil compa-nies have expressed an interest in exploration.In the first quarter of 2013, Staatsolie willformally announce its fifth International Bid-ding Round in Houston, Texas. The industrywill have the opportunity to bid on blocks in-cluding those on the Demerara Plateau where

Staatsolie executed a regional 2D seismic sur-vey last year.

In December 2011, Staatsolie signed threeproduction-sharing contracts, which have a30-year validity, with oil multinationals Kos-mos Energy and Murphy Oil. The compa-nies have opted for production sharingcontracts while 2 and 3D seismic surveys are

pending. Staatsolie Managing Director MarcWaaldijk is convinced that Staatsolie hasmade solid deals with the two foreign com-panies. The deal with Kosmos states that nextto the usual conditions including royalties, taxon profits and income tax, Suriname has theoption to buy shares in the event of an oilstrike.

The government has also designated Staat-solie as the coordinating agent for renewableenergy projects in Suriname. While renew-able energy sources hold great promise for thefuture, only feasible projects based on proventechnology will be considered. In 2008, sev-eral options for producing biofuel in Suri-name were evaluated and Staatsolie decidedto explore the possibilities for the produc-tion of biofuel from sugarcane. Staatsoliestarted a pilot sugarcane cultivation projectin 2010 to determine which sugarcane vari-eties result in the best yield per hectare andcontain the highest percentage of fermentablesugars for the production of ethanol. The pi-lot sugarcane cultivation project has yieldedencouraging results so far, while industrial andagricultural studies, as well as an Environ-mental and Social Impact Assessment, willcontinue for the remainder of the year.

Staatsolie is also developing hydropower.The company plans to build the TapaJai hydro-plant in 2013 to harness the power ofBlommenstein Lake and two feeder rivers.Another hydro-energy project, forecast tobe completed in 2014-15, will add 60megawatts to the generating capacity of theAfobaka Dam.

Staatsolie firmly believes that people are cen-tral to its successes and as a result, human re-source development is a vital aspect of itsbusiness. Regular training and developmentprograms have resulted in a pool of educatedand dedicated professionals who have masteredthe entire process of exploration, develop-ment, production, refining and marketing.

Since its origins the company has spear-headed initiatives aimed at increasing thewelfare of the community. However, in 2009Staatsolie created a special foundation to bet-ter channel its efforts. The Staatsolie Foun-dation for Community Development supportssustainable development projects, namely inthe areas of education, health and safety, theenvironment, sports, arts and culture, ener-gy, and entrepreneurship.

Company Managing Director MarcWaaldijk in his anniversary speech called on“everybody” to contribute to the company’sfurther growth: “We want to help makeSuriname a prosperous country. We needto take the way we do business to an evenhigher level.”

The Staatsolie Building, which houses theFaculty of Graduate Studies at the Anton deKom University (ADEK), was inaugurated inDecember 2007. In February 2010, ADEK be-gan offering a MSc in Petroleum Geology, fi-nanced by Staatsolie.

Mr. Waaldijk says that as Staatsolie growsit will not neglect its responsibilities. “Our so-cial responsibility will drive us to pay specialattention to making a tangible contributionin order to lift education to the highest level.”

Exploring the hydrocarbon potentialOffshore Suriname is unexploited, with only 25 wells drilled in an area of 150,000 km

2

Suriname’s state oil company Staat-solie broke a new record last year,bringing in some US$700 million in

income, over US$560 million more than2008.

“2011 was our best year ever, if we lookat turnover,” Managing Director MarcWaaldijk says . “ World oil prices haveturned out profitable, in particular in thelast couple of years, even though produc-tion levels have remained the same for us.That’s a strategic choice though. We wantto be sure of the reserves; only then canwe look at producing bigger quantities.”

Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname N.V.was founded in December 1980 and is in-volved in all aspects of exploration, pro-duction, refining and marketing of crudeoil and refined products. The company isnow one of Suriname’s biggest earners andhas been contributing towards the devel-opment of the country for more than 30years, thanks to forward-thinking man-agement.

In 2011 the company invested US$190million in exploration, expansion and di-versification efforts. “Staatsolie must ex-pand beyond oil production,” says Mr.Waaldijk. “Half way through the 2008-2012planning, we evaluated the program to findout whether Vision 2020 was still valid andif adjustment was necessary. The findingsof the evaluation were that we are righton track.”

Knowing that oil reserves cannot lastforever, Staatsolie is investing in the devel-opment of renewable energy programs.“Every self-respecting oil company in theworld has shifted from oil to energy,” Mr.Waaldijk says. “Depending on the country,the focus is on wind energy, solar energy,biofuel or hydro energy. Everybody isin renewables. We have to follow suitif we want Staatsolie to survive.Oil is finite, but renewablesare infinite.”

Today, Staatsoliep r o d u c e s16,000 bar-rels ofcrude oi lper day,and has ar e f i n i n g

capacity of 7,000 barrels per day produc-ing diesel, fuel oil and bitumen. Its ther-mal power plant added 14 megawatts in2010 to produce 28 megawatts.

Currently, the company manages threeoil fields in Suriname: CalcuttaField, Tambaredjo Field, andTambaredjo NorthWest Field in dis-trict Saramacca.

The output from the three oil fields is thentransported through giant undergroundpipes to a refinery located at Tout Lui Fautwith a capacity of 7,000 bpd.

Staatsolie has steadily made investmentsthat will affect each of these functions. ItsUS$450 million budget for 2011 allocatedUS$85 million for operations and US$370million for investments. Its explorationbudget was bolstered by an additionalUS$50 million to expand its oil reserves to64 million barrels and maintain its 16,000-barrels-per-day production levels. Thoughstill early in the Vision 2020 program, thistask has proved to be Staatsolie’s mostdaunting undertaking.

“We want to maintain a production lev-el of 16,000 barrels per day, and that willrequire an extensive drilling program,” Mr.Waaldijk says. “Many do not seem to un-derstand that maintaining a certain pro-duction le vel requires enormousinvestments.”

As Staatsolie aggressively moves forwardwith its 2020 plan, Mr. Waaldijk reflectson the program’s early victories and dis-appointments. He admits there is muchmore to be done in the next nine years. “AtStaatsolie we have always worked accord-ing to plans, but these were relatively short-term plans,” he says. “We have boldly seta long-term goal for 2020. It is not easy, butbecause the goal is divided in phases, plan-ning periods, it is manageable. It is justlike taking the stairs, one step at a time.”

This year the company has signed ex-ploration contracts with two multination-als, the most recent with Texan oil and gasfirm Kosmos Energy, which agreed to ex-plore two blocks offshore Suriname. Blocks42 and 45 cover a total area of nearly 3million gross acres, in water depths of be-tween 650 and 8,500 feet.

Staatsolie has the ability to brand Suri-name as the next regional oil and gas gi-ant. By reaching out to its neighbors itcan attract investment and raise aware-ness from the many Latin American com-panies active in the oil and gas industry.Staatsolie would like to send a messageabout how it is open to partnerships, andhow it has already established some part-nerships with leading companies like Kos-mos and Murphys.

Suriname: the next oil and gas giantSuriname’s state oil company aims to beat its 2011 record profit

The company’s newrefinery should beoperational by 2014

Staatsolie’s Vision 2020 is geared towardsa sustainable energy future for Surinameas well as providing for a clear and signif-icant contribution to society.

With the strategic acquisition of ChevronSuriname as part of a US$1 billion invest-ment plan, Staatsolie entered the retail busi-ness and has demonstrated that it is set toconquer the fuel market as of 2014. Mean-while, the refinery expansion project toboost capacity is an important step towardsimproving the country’s trade balance.

To realize these ambitions Staatsoliehas mapped out a solid implementationstrategy consisting of four phases: ‘Fun-dament for Growth’, ‘Transition’, ‘Expan-sive Growth’ and ‘Rationalization’.

This strategic long-term plan is meantto increase oil refining capacity and oilreserves, while developing renewable en-ergy resources and separating the com-pany ’s commercial and institutionalfunctions by 2020.

“Suriname’s domestic production po-tential has increased the attractiveness ofrefining capacity expansion vis-à-vis fuelimports,” said company Managing Direc-tor Marc Waaldijk, mindful of plans tohave the company’s new refinery opera-tional by 2014.

“Importantly, the wider product rangeof the newly expanded refinery will in-clude gasoline, a product on which Suri-name is currently fully import-reliant. WithSuriname’s oil product consumption con-tinuing to grow rapidly, it is unlikely thatan expansion to 15,000 barrels per day willmake the country self-sufficient in refinedproducts.”

Discovering Staatsolie’sambitious expansion plan

A Masters inPetroleum Geologyis available fromFaculty ofTechnologicalSciences

Staatsolie reinvests itsprofits in education

2011 was our best yearever. If you look atturnover, world oil

prices have turned outprofitable, in particular inthe last couple of years,even while productionlevels remained the same.

Marc Waaldijk, CEO of Staatsolie

‘

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT 7

Suriname takes pride in being one of the fewcountries on the planet with an abundanceof standing pristine forests, which are con-

sidered to be among the most intact in the worldand provide the global community with a vital eco-logical resource.

The country has a long history of nature con-servation, biodiversity protection and sustain-able forest management. For more than half acentury, it has made considerable efforts to de-velop and enforce legislation for protected areasand sustainable forestry practices. As such, it hasput in place various laws to protect at least 15%of its territory, which includes nature reservesand multiple-use areas, and the government isadding to this by taking bold steps in replantingthe country’s mangrove forests to protect its vul-nerable coastline and contribute to mitigatingthe consequences of global warming throughcarbon dioxide absorption.

Suriname is part of the Amazonian Basin, whichis an area often linked to the issue of climatechange. During the Rio+20 United Nations Con-ference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD)that took place in June, Suriname’s Minister of theEnvironment, Spatial Planning, Land and ForestManagement Ginmardo Kromosoeto announcedthe nation’s pride in assuming the role of Secre-tary General of the Amazon Cooperation TreatyOrganization, ACTO. The Minister reaffirmedthe government’s commitment to following thepath of incorporating principles of sustainabili-ty in its efforts for development through the re-sponsible use of the country’s wealth of naturalresources.

He also stated that it would actively participatein designing a financial framework for sustain-able development goals (SDGs), saying: “Suri-name has made great strides in achievingimportant economic growth in recent yearsthrough prudent macro-economic policies andthe sustainable use of its natural resources. Thisachievement has led to the classification of Suri-name as a middle-income country.”

Foreign know-how is in demand in Surinameto help extract greater economic benefits from thesector, as agriculture, forestry and fishing con-tributed just 4.8% to the nation’s total GDP in2010. “There are opportunities for the knowledgethe U.S. has in the forestry industry,” commentsTesora Kartodikromo, Business Manager of Suri-name’s earth-moving specialist WTEC Solé. “Weare currently involved in forestry for local con-sumption, but not for export markets. We haveso much wood waste that we are doing nothingwith – just burning it. I think that with Americanor European know-how and technologies wecould do something productive with that wasteand use it for energy, biomass, furniture, etc.”

The Ministry of the Environment, Spatial Plan-ning, Land and Forest Management is responsi-ble for managing Suriname’s vast land resourcesthrough its three divisions: the Land Manage-ment Department, the Forestry Department, andthe Physical Planning Department. “We are work-ing with various partners and UN agencies. We

want to show the world that we have potential inforestry and non-timber products, and incredi-ble biodiversity,” says Mr. Kromosoeto.

In total, between 1990 and 2010, Suriname lost0.1% of its forest cover, or around 18,000 hectares.Globally, deforestation and forest degradationaccount for nearly 20% of worldwide greenhousegas emissions – more than the entire global trans-portation sector. In April, a United Nations De-velopment Programme (UNDP) mission visitedSuriname to discuss arrangements for reducingemissions from deforestation and forest degra-dation (REDD+) with the Surinamese govern-ment and UNDP Suriname.

REDD+ is an effort to assess the financial val-ue of the carbon stored in forests and to offer de-veloping countries incentives to reduce or limitpotential emissions from forested lands and in-vest in low-carbon paths to sustainable develop-ment. The scheme goes beyond deforestationand forest degradation, and includes the role ofconservation, sustainable management of forestsand the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Mr. Kromosoeto says, “We are very seriousabout preserving our forests and we will stop allillegal activities. We will harvest big trees, so thatsmall trees have the room and space to grow. So,we have developed the CELOS Management Sys-tem (CMS), which is a method for sustainableproduction of high quality hardwoods in tropi-cal forests. Using this system, we will have lightand well-planned harvests, executed carefully toimprove logging efficiency and to limit damageto the remaining standing trees.”

CMS was developed by the Center for Agri-cultural Research in Suriname (CELOS) and theAgricultural University of Wageningen in TheNetherlands, now known as Wageningen UR.Starting in the 1960s, it was originally developedfor Suriname, but has since gained internationalrecognition

Boosting sustainable forestry in oneof the greenest nations on EarthWith over 90% of its landmass covered by forests and benefiting from negligible deforestation,Suriname is creating solutions for sustainable timber harvesting with environmental protection

Approximately 14.8 million hectares of Suriname areforested and classified as primary forest, the most bio-diverse and carbon-dense form of forest

Suriname’s forests are among the rich-est and most untouched on the plan-et, and both the government and

international organizations are set on hav-ing them remain so. They contain 3.165billion metric tons of carbon in living for-est biomass, as well as more than 1,100known species of amphibians, birds, mam-mals and reptiles, according to figures fromthe World Conservation Monitoring Cen-ter. Of these, 1.3% are endemic, i.e. theyexist in no other place in the world, and 1.8%are threatened. The country is also hometo at least 5,000 species of vascular plants.It is little wonder, therefore, that the coun-try takes protecting its incredible biodi-versity seriously.

Just under 15 million hectares of Suri-name is forested. Of this, almost 95% (14million hectares) is classified as primaryforest, the most biodiverse and carbon-dense form of forest. Its vegetation has beengrouped into three main categories: hy-drophytic forest (1.3 million ha), xerophyt-ic forest (150,000 ha) and mesophytic forest(13.4 million ha), the latter being regardedas the most commercially valuable.

Earlier this year, an expedition to Suri-name led by the charity Conservation In-ternational revealed 46 species that arethought to be previously unknown. Inves-tigations are under way to confirm whichof the creatures are in fact newly discov-ered species. Among the weird and won-derful finds include the ‘cowboy frog’, abrightly colored cricket that has beennamed the ‘crayola katydid’, and an armoredcatfish, which sports spine-covered bonyplates all over its body to protect it fromthe giant piranhas that inhabit the samewaters.

The project’s director, Dr. Trond Larsen,told BBC Nature why the particular part ofSuriname the group visited was so special:“As you fly into the area, you travel for hun-dreds of miles and often [don’t] see a sin-gle road – just continuous forest. It’s oneof the last places in the world where youcan find that wilderness. We take these

wildernesses for granted, but unless we fo-cus on them now, they won’t be like thatfor long.”

During the three-week expedition, theteam of scientists helped local people to des-ignate a specific ‘no-take zone’ of the for-est, with the ultimate goal of making it asmall nature reserve, which could protectnative wildlife, enable indigenous people tohunt sustainably and encourage ecotourism.

As part of its mission to conserve natur-al communities and ecological biodiversi-ty, in 1998 the WWF identified 238

ecoregions widely known as the Global 200.They are a collection of the most outstand-ing and diverse habitats or areas in the world,where the planet’s biological wealth is mostdistinctive and rich. They are also whereany biological loss would be most severelyfelt. Among the nations highlighted for ex-tra conservational effort was the GuiananMoist Forests Ecoregion.

Part of the WWF global network, WWFGuianas is a conservation initiative launchedin 1998 that seeks to “conserve nature andecological processes by ensuring that the use

of renewable resources is sustainable bothnow and in the longer term”. It covers the threeGuianas (Suriname, French Guiana andGuyana) and focuses on the Guianan Ecore-gion complex – the Guianan Moist ForestsEcoregion, Guianan Freshwater Ecoregionand Guianan-Amazon Mangrove Ecoregion.

Through partnerships with local commu-nities, private and public sector institutions,international NGOs and funding organiza-tions, WWF Guianas hopes to preserve theregion’s natural wonders and ensure the sus-tainable use of its natural resources.

New species of flora and fauna are still being discovered in Suriname

Parts of Suriname’s vast rainforest coverage contain some of the last true wildernesses on the planet

Pristine forests as far as the eye can see

‘We have developed the CELOS ManagementSystem (CMS), which is a method forsustainable production of high qualityhardwoods in tropical forests. Using this system, we will have light and well-planned harvests, executed carefully toimprove logging efficiency and to limit damageto the remaining standing trees.

Ginmardo Kromosoeto,Minister of the Environment, Spatial Planning, Land andForest Management

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT8

While oil, minerals and services makeup the bulk of Suriname’s gross do-mestic product, agriculture plays a

smaller, yet perhaps equally important, role. Em-ploying about 12% of the total workforce andcomprising more than 11% of total export earn-ings, the agriculture and fisheries sectors in Suri-name are large enough to make the countryself-sufficient in terms of food production. More-over, there is enough spillover to position Suri-name as a potential provider for the rest of theCaribbean region.

Many of Suriname’s neighbors have shiftedfrom agriculture toward tourism, and conse-quently often have difficulties in fulfilling do-mestic demand. Tourists only serve to exacerbatethis problem of limited agricultural produc-tion, thus creating the need to import food. AsSuriname has maintained agriculture as a sta-ple economic activity, it is well placed to be theregion’s food storehouse. Already, its export-oriented agricultural and fisheries sectors servemarkets – including the U.S., the EU, and Japan– known for their high food standards.

“I see Suriname as the primary agriculturalcountry, with food production that can supportthe region,” says Djaienti Hindori, CEO of Land-bouwbank N.V., a primarily agricultural bankthat is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.“The country is blessed with very fertile soil. Ithas the infrastructure – both wet and dry – tocomply with all the conditions required for goodagricultural production. All we need to do is or-ganize it in such a way that we can get good pri-mary production, add value, and have all thetransport facilities in place to cater to our neigh-boring countries in the Caribbean.”

For the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Hus-bandry and Fisheries, two essential componentsof growing the sector are sustainability and foodsafety, which can both be attained with the helpof new technologies. One foundation focused onresearch in this field is the Center for Agricul-tural Research in Suriname (CELOS).

Linked with Anton de Kom University, CELOSwas established in 1967 with a mandate to findsolutions for the agricultural and forestry sectors

through technology. Current programs concen-trate, for example, on supporting the animal hus-bandry sector by conducting field research on thefeasibility of the local production of fodder com-ponents, such as soya and corn. Other projectsinclude the study of cashew cultivation on lowfertility soils in Suriname, as well as soil scienceresearch focused on the soil-plant relationship andaimed at determining optimal soil managementof various economical crops.

Suriname’s banking sector is also active inpromoting agriculture. Landbouwbank, for in-stance, has created special financial tools to sup-port the introduction of more efficient andcapital-intensive production models to replacethe more labor-intensive ones, a move that willenable farmers to have more land suitable foragriculture and of course, raise productivity.

Ms. Hindori says the bank invests in the mod-ernization of the agricultural sector “to encour-age more participation from the youngerfarmers. We want these young people to believein the sector.”

She adds that Landbouwbank is looking tocollaborate with universities in Suriname topromote food sciences and agricultural pro-grams, and that it seeks ways to guarantee fi-nancing in the sector “simply because agricultureis highly viable.”

The government has targeted rice, citrus, ba-nanas, palm oil, and fish and shrimp for invest-ment, and relevant infrastructure is being put intoplace to further strengthen the industries. Ac-cording to Ms. Hindori, however, further invest-ment is needed. “Suriname needs investmentsin logistics, infrastructure, and equipment to tapinto its natural assets. That is exactly where weneed partnerships. They can supply the knowl-edge and financing, while we take care of the re-sources,” she says.

Fortunately, the country’s calling card of sus-tainability is helping attract these investments.“Suriname is gradually gaining credibility as atrading partner. Through its investments, theplans, and the objectives, the country has demon-strated its commitment to projects that are long-term and sustainable,” says Ms. Hindori.

HHooww ddoo yyoouu sseeee SSuurriinnaammee aass tthhee eexxaammpplleettoo ffoollllooww iinn tthhee rreeggiioonn iinn tteerrmmss ooff ffoooodd pprroo--dduuccttiioonn??

Suriname will be the food producer of theCaribbean, based on the potential we have inagriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.Around 15% of Suriname’s area is developed andthe rest is forest.

Food safety and food security are relevant.We are producing enough food for our coun-try, but we have to export. That means that wehave to look at how safe the food that is beingproduced is. We are working towards achiev-ing international standards and we want our fa-cilities to be certified for international standardsso we can contribute to global food production.

HHooww iiss tthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt wwoorrkkiinngg ttoo bbeeccoommeetthhee mmaaiinn ssuupppplliieerr ooff bbaassiicc ffooooddss ttoo tthhee CCaarrii--ccoomm rreeggiioonn??

One of our policies is to increase produc-tion up to the area that has been allocated andthen expand that area step-by-step. The cli-mate is really changing, so that has forced usto look at horticulture production. Most ofour vegetables are being produced in openfields, so we are moving this to a more pro-tected environment, in greenhouses. We aregoing to export these vegetables. A lot of mea-sures are being taken to create an environ-ment for production.

WWhhiicchh aaggrriiccuullttuurraall pprroodduuccttss hhaavvee tthhee mmoossttppootteennttiiaall ffoorr ddeevveellooppmmeenntt iinn SSuurriinnaammee iinn tthheenneeaarr ffuuttuurree??

We are looking at agriculture and animalhusbandry. We are looking at what the mar-ket needs, and there is a large market for our

products in the Caribbean. So instead of bring-ing them all the way from New Zealand orfrom across the world, we think we can pro-duce sheep and goats for the region. We arebringing in cattle from other countries, whichare suitable for our conditions. We are start-ing a program to change the breeds we havehere for beef and dairy cattle. In so doing, wewant to provide the Caribbean market withequal food standards, which they are used toat home.

HHooww iimmppoorrttaanntt iiss tthhee ffiisshhiinngg iinndduussttrryy aanndd iittssaauuxxiilliiaarryy iinnffrraassttrruuccttuurree ffoorr SSuurriinnaammee??

In the past we had a lot of fisheries in Suri-name, but in recent years this has declined. Thepolicy is now focused on sustainable fisheriesand in order to do this, we need a coastguardto see what is happening within our waters. Weare looking at fishermen and ships in the wa-ter and sustainable marine resources.

Additionally, to maintain sustainability inthe sector, we have decreased the number offishing days in order to give the stock a chanceto replenish.

We have recently seen how Suriname’s Seabobfishery was awarded with Marine StewardshipCouncil (MSC) labeling. We are studying thespecies and we are looking at the harvest of thespecies and how healthy the population is.

We are looking at fishing methods and howfish are harvested. We use a code of conduct,which gives us a conservative figure based onwhat we are doing. We monitor the tonnagethey catch and what they catch. Before there were30 boats but now we brought it back to 22. Theycannot go beyond a certain depth level. Theyhave a system so we can track where they arevia satellite. If they go under that depth, they willhave a problem because it will be reported.

We also aim to develop more aquaculture. Wework together with the private sector, lookingat what can be done within aquaculture.

WWhhaatt iimmpplliiccaattiioonnss hhaass tthhee MMSSCC llaabbeell hhaadd ffoorrtthhee iinndduussttrryy??

Comparing past and present figures, we areexporting less now than before. But this doesnot necessarily mean that this was bad for theeconomy. With the labeling, you can chargehigher prices.

Recovery in the fishery sector is not some-thing you will see overnight; it takes time to re-cover. We will see the results of our investmentafter one or two years. We will put other mea-sures into place like monitoring the permit andvessels in the water. We want to contribute tothe growth of the economy. It is not about mak-ing money for one year, but it is about makingmoney for years to come.

CCoouulldd yyoouu tteellll uuss wwhhaatt iinniittiiaattiivveess tthhee ggoovveerrnn--mmeenntt hhaass ttoo pprroommoottee ssuussttaaiinnaabbllee ffiisshhiinngg aannddaaggrriiccuullttuurree??

We are earning income at the moment frombauxite, gold and the oil sector, but these are

temporary. Agriculture is sustainable. We arelooking for markets that are interested in agri-culture and organic farming and using the pro-duction environment in a sustainable manner.By doing this, we can ensure that productionwill be for years. One thing we are sure aboutis that people eat: they ate yesterday, they areeating today and they will eat tomorrow.

Diversifying Suriname’s agricultural exports

With a vastendowment in richsoil, optimal climateand privilegedgeographicalposition, agricultureremains vital toSuriname’s nationalsocioeconomicdevelopment. A five-year medium-term plan targetsthe agriculturalsector as one ofprime importance, asreflected in theAgricultural SupportProgram (ASP)

BANANAS

Suriname’s banana industry enjoys quota and duty-free

access for its fruit to the European Union. Nevertheless,

changes to the EU’s import tax regime, which will benefit

banana exporters in Ecuador and Colombia, will affect

Suriname’s competitive advantage.

PALM OIL

An investment of US$4.5m by a Chinese investment company

is allowing Suriname’s palm-oil sector to make a comeback.

The deal includes the shipment of oil palm seedlings from

Malaysia as well as the rehabilitation of palm-oil estates and a

factory that was officially closed in 2004.

FISHERIES & SHRIMP

Suriname is one of four Caricom countries delivering the

largest landings of marine products, and its fisheries exports

have continuously been increasing. The main fisheries market

for Suriname in Caricom is Jamaica, while the region’s per

capita consumption of fish in the region is 33 pounds.

RICE

Rice constitutes a vital dietary component in the Caricom

region and in general its demand exceeds supply. In 2010

Suriname and Brazil agreed to double the rice export from

Suriname to Brazil, from the annual quota of 100,000 tons

to 200,000 tons.

ORANGES

The government of Suriname is launching its first citrus

plantation on the site of the former 18th century Alliance

sugar estate, which lies along the Matapica Creek. The

state hopes to revitalize the sector with this investment.

The abundance of nature, growth andpossibilities merge together in theprojected investment opportunities in theagriculture sector

Working towards becoming thefood basket of the Caribbean

‘Suriname will be thefood producer of theCaribbean, based onthe potential we havein agriculture, animalhusbandry andfisheries... We areworking towardachieving internationalstandards and we wantour facilities to becertified forinternational standardsso we can contribute toglobal food production.

Hendrik Setrowidjojo, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries

For decades the Moengo dock wasone of the busiest docks in the re-public of Suriname. In the late 90s

when the mining company Suralcomoved its mining front to the Coermoti-bo River, the Moengo dock became re-dundant and was sold to a privatecompany in 1994. The new owners de-molished buildings and sold them asscrap.

In 2004, Traymore N.V. bought thedock and proceeded to rehabilitate itand have it certified in order to be ableto facilitate current and future activi-ties in the Moengo area. The port wasofficially opened on April 19, 2008.

Eugene H. Profijt, CEO of TraymoreSuriname, discusses the importance ofthe country’s ports – particularly thePort of Moengo – both for maintainingcurrent business and as drivers for eco-nomic growth.

He says: “The big challenge for me wasto show people that we were capable.Until now a lot of people doubted thatthe harbor would be a success. Mindyou, we have only had the harbor two anda half years, which is a short period.There was a lot of time spent on reno-vations, certifying the harbor, and secu-rity, which is one of the most importantthings.

“ We are also a member of theCaribbean Shipping Association (CSA),just to show the world that we exist. Butafter two and a half years we have proventhat we have the r ight to be there.Through employment and social wel-fare projects, we are doing somethingfor the people. We are also doing some-thing to put the country on the interna-tional map.”

The Moengo company is tapping into

We have the biggestprivately-owned oiltank farm: 50,000barrels. We are anISPS-certified harborand we haveinvested in heavyequipment.

Eugene H. Profijt,CEO of Traymore Suriname

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE MIAMI HERALD BY BUSINESS & INVESTMENT 9

SSuurriinnaammee’’ss pprriivviilleeggeedd ggeeooggrraapphhiiccaall llooccaattiioonn ccaanneennaabbllee iitt ttoo bbeeccoommee tthhee lleeaaddiinngg mmaarriittiimmee hhuubbooff tthhee rreeggiioonn.. HHooww iiss tthhee ggoovveerrnnmmeenntt wwoorrkkiinnggoonn aacchhiieevviinngg tthhee ccoouunnttrryy’’ss ffuullll ppootteennttiiaall iinn mmaarr--iittiimmee ttrraannssppoorrtt??

Suriname’s location in the Caribbean gives it aclear competitive advantage. It is the maritime hubfor the highly lucrative Caribbean and Latin Amer-ican markets.

Part of the government’s policy is to dredge thecountry’s relevant waterways, build port termi-nals, and rehabilitate our existing port/terminalinfrastructure. This includes the facilities on theborders of the country (e.g., Suriname-FrenchGuiana, Suriname-Guyana, etc.). We finishedwith the rehabilitation of the Port of Paramaribolast year. Right now, we are busy with the rehabil-itation of the New Nickerie port on the westernborder. We hope to finalize the rehabilitation pro-gram by the end of this year. All these projects aredesigned to bolster the development of the mar-itime sector.

In the future, we intend to develop a seaportand an inland terminal for river cruises. There arealso plans to build port terminal facilities in Albi-na, on the eastern border facing French Guiana,to facilitate trade between Suriname, FrenchGuiana and Guyana. In addition, ferries will bepurchased to improve our ferry services.

RReecceenntt nnoottaabbllee pprroojjeeccttss iinncclluuddee tthhee ccoommpplleettiioonnooff tthhee PPoorrtt PPaarraammaarriibboo RReehhaabbiilliittaattiioonn pprroojjeecctt,,aass yyoouu’’vvee mmeennttiioonneedd,, aanndd tthhee IInnssttiittuuttiioonnaallSSttrreennggtthheenniinngg ooff tthhee TTrraannssppoorrtt SSeeccttoorr PPrroojjeecctt((IISSTTSS)).. TThhiiss yyeeaarr,, wwhhiicchh pprroojjeeccttss wwoouulldd yyoouu lliikkeettoo hhiigghhlliigghhtt??

Air transport holds a lot of potential. For instance,there is the Johan Adolf Pengel (JAP) Interna-tional Airport Project in Zanderij. JAP seeks tobecome a regional hub for aviation. They intend

to install more runways and facilities, and erectadditional hotels. Suriname has a highly favorablegeographic location, and these developments willput JAP in the best position to tap into that.

As the chair of Caricom, President Bouterse an-nounced that the main focus in Caricom shouldbe on ensuring economical self-reliance and im-proving connectivity in both telecom and physi-cal routes. This will not only merge the singlemarket but also open up a lot of opportunities forexport, import and transport of goods, products,services, and knowledge through people.

AAnn iimmppoorrttaanntt aassppeecctt ooff tthhee ccoouunnttrryy’’ss rreennoovvaattiioonnpprroocceessss iiss tthhee rroollee ooff cceerrttiiffiiccaattiioonn.. HHooww hhaass tthheeiinndduussttrryy ccooppeedd wwiitthh tthhee rreeqquuiirreemmeennttss aanndd wwhhaattnneeww ggooaallss hhaavvee yyoouu sseett ffoorr yyoouurrsseellff??

We are part of international transport organi-zations. As such, we are obliged to implement therequired global standards for day-to-day opera-tions. Our transport policy is aligned with that.A key example of this would be Port Paramaribo,which was awarded for having the Best Multipur-pose Terminal by the Caribbean Shipping Asso-ciation (CMA). This recognition affirms the port’ssecurity and dependability. It has good accessibil-ity, high security, improved infrastructure, andthe best container handling capacity.

The Maritime Authority of Suriname (MAS)is the first regulatory agency within the Dutchand English-speaking Caribbean to receive anISO 9001:2008 certification. MAS has been reg-ulating the sector to make sure that we all of ourcompanies are certified.

Among the agreements we have ratified arethe International Ship and Port Facility Security(ISPS) Code, the Convention on the Safety of Lifeat Sea (SOLAS), and the International Conven-tion for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships(MARPOL).

TThhee ffllaagg ccaarrrriieerr’’ss nneeww MMiiaammii--GGeeoorrggeettoowwnn rroouutteewwiillll lliinnkk PPaarraammaarriibboo wwiitthh tthhee UU..SS.. aanndd GGuuyyaannaa..WWhhaatt ddooeess tthhiiss ddeevveellooppmmeenntt mmeeaann ttoo SSuurriinnaammee??

This re-established link to Miami in the U.S.and Georgetown in Guyana, with a stopoverin Paramaribo here, is important for us. Ourgoal is to liberalize the aviation sector. Thiswould entail having linkages with as manycountries as possible. This new connection toMiami is meant to increase accessibility to theU.S. and encourage more people from Floridato visit Suriname as a holiday destination, wherethey can experience nature at its best.

Moreover this is one of the agreements inthe IIRSA (Initiative for the Integration of theRegional Infrastructure of South America) to

improve interconnectivity within South Amer-ica. Creating more hub opportunities for bothpeople-to-people contact and the movementof goods are essential to Suriname’s growth.

WWhhaatt bbuussiinneessss ooppppoorrttuunniittiieess wwoouulldd yyoouu lliikkee ttoohhiigghhlliigghhtt ffoorr tthhee FFlloorriiddiiaann mmaarrkkeett??

In terms of transport, we see strong possi-bilities in the area of aviation. We can createlinkages with Miami and offer direct flights.That is something that we have in the pipeline.Right now, we have the route going to and fromGeorgetown, Guyana. We intend to have di-rect flights available within Suriname in the fu-ture. If you look at Surinam Airways (SLM),you will see that there is a market in George-town, Miami and Toronto. There is a signifi-cant Guyanese diaspora in Toronto, just asthere is a large Surinamese diaspora in Holland.When you talk about European tourism in thecountry, most of our visitors come from Hol-land. For the U.S., we are starting to tap intothe Floridian market. Through that, we hopeto increase the number of American touristscoming to Suriname.

Right now, we have an exchange programwith Georgetown. Our tourists can ventureinto Georgetown to explore the sights and viceversa. This will allow us to mutually benefit froma larger catchment. That is the goal. In the fu-ture, we intend to connect to Guyana by landthrough a fixed connection or a bridge, be-cause right now, we are doing it through ferry.Our vision is to connect Suriname to the U.S.through Guyana, Venezuela, Colombia, Pana-ma, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Thereis also a route to encourage tourism by tappinginto the neighboring countries. We have bigplans in the Caribbean and Latin America. Atthe moment, the connections are by air. Wehope to further integrate with the region by land.This is where investors can play a role.

Connecting theAmericas, Europe,and the CaribbeanSuriname is capitalizing on its excellentlocation to boost regional transportation

Our goal is to liberalize the aviation sector. This would entail having linkages with as many countries as possible.

Falisie Pinas,Minister of Tourism, Transport and Communications

Traymore Docks revitalized an obsolete terminal in Moengo, converting it into the port ofchoice for mining and timber companies active in the area

Traymore facilitates growth in the hinterland

the area’s growing economic activities, es-pecially in the mining and forestry sectors.

From its 53,000 barrels bunkering facil-ity, Traymore distributes fuel to sand andgravel miners and other building materialproducers. Fuel is also sold to small-scalegold miners and forestry companies. Eachmonth the port handles two fuel tankersfrom Trinidad and Tobago.

“We have our own fuel trucks for distri-bution,” says Mr. Profijt.

While container handling has not yetbecome reality, cargo and packed goodsare already being processed. According toMr. Profijt, container handling is delayedbecause of the ongoing reconstruction andupgrading of the east-west highway toFrench Guiana. He anticipates that someof this freight will ultimately be handled atTraymore Docks.

“We have the biggest privately-ownedoil tank farm: 50,000 barrels,” adds Mr.Profijt. “We are an ISPS-certified harborand we have invested in heavy equipment.Moengo Mineral is building a factory now,

and the equipment that they are purchas-ing is being unloaded at our harbor. Ourmain business at the harbor now is fuel,getting fuel and selling it back. I hope thatbefore the end of this year, we can get ourfirst container shipped. That is our plan,but our main thing now is diesel oil,” headds.

“Demand for diesel is going to grow enor-mously if Newmont starts – Newmont isone of the three biggest mining companiesin the world. Small-scale mining will needoil as well.”

As the company grows, Mr. Profijt is wellaware of his company’s corporate socialresponsibility and giving something backto the people of Suriname. With this inmind, Traymore is presently running a pro-ject where they pay for the schooling of 40poor children, who otherwise could notafford to go to school.

“This year we have given 35 chairs andtables for schoolchildren. We see educationas one of the most important things forpeople to grow,” says the CEO.

Improving the nation’s connectivity with better infrastructure will help boost Suriname’s tourism industry, which islooking to capitalize on the country’s spectacular beauty and incredible natural diversity

‘

‘

Surinam Airways, the small airline with bigambitions to carve out a profitable nicheconnecting Suriname with the rest of the

world, is making great strides in bridging this avi-ation gap. The airline was originally establishedto provide important regional and industriallinks within Suriname, initially serving the Para-maribo–Moengo route. On August 30, 1962,the company was taken over by the Surinamesegovernment and on the country’s independencein 1975, the carrier officially became the nation-al airline of the Republic of Suriname, launch-ing services to Amsterdam at the same time.

Based at Paramaribo’s Johan Adolf PengelInternational Airport, today Surinam Airwaysoperates a network of regional services in SouthAmerica and the Caribbean, in addition to long-haul services to Amsterdam. Recently, it intro-duced a new connection linking Georgetown,the capital city of Guyana, with Suriname’s owncapital, Paramaribo, and Miami Internationalin the U.S. The twice-weekly Paramaribo-Georgetown-Miami service commenced inApril, with a Boeing 737-300 flying the nation’sflag on the new route.

Surinam Airways already offers flights to Mi-ami from Johan Adolf Pengel International Air-port in Paramaribo on a three-times-a-weekbasis via Aruba, which will continue to oper-ate alongside the new twice-weekly rotationvia Georgetown’s Cheddi Jagan InternationalAirport.

An estimated 35,000origin and destination(O&D) passengerstraveled betweenParamaribo andMiami in the pastyear and SurinamAirways currentlyhas just a 52% shareof this traffic.

This year, Suri-nam Airways is cele-brating its 50th

anniversary and has every intention of makingthe next 50 years just as accomplished as thepast half century. The airline is planning to launchtheir third 737-400 in 2012 as part of its plans tolook for more opportunities in connecting neigh-boring countries, such as French Guiana, withthe Caribbean or Miami.

The President and CEO of Surinam Airways,Ewald Henshuijs, shares his thoughts about thefuture: “Surinam Airways stands out as an exam-ple as we are the only airline that is not subsidizedand we would like to connect the Caribbean withevery part of the world, as we have been doingfor 50 years. We have just initiated a com-prehensive plan with the Ministry of For-eign Affairs regarding facilitating passengervisas so that one may purchase a SurinamAirways ticket in their own country, be itFrance, the U.K., Belgium, Luxembourg, Scan-dinavia or the Baltic States, and have no hasslewith visas. We also connect the Caribbean withthe Netherlands. In addition, we have signed anagreement with Access Rail so that people cantake a high-speed train to the airport and con-nect with our flights.”

The company’s business projection for 2012-2015 outlines plans to update its fleet for long-haul journeys, switching twin-engine aircraft forthose with four engines. “We also want to startjoint operation with our neighbors in Guyana totake them to Europe or wherever their marketdemands,” says Mr. Henshuijs.

He adds: “Things arechanging in the airlinebusiness and we aremaking efforts to cutcosts and make ourcompany prof-itable; this is oneof our major fo-cuses. Contractsthat expire needto be renegotiat-ed and in this yearwe are celebratingour 50th anniver-sary and when Ileave I believe this

company can continue to grow for the next 50years.”

The airline also has a strong focus on Brazilright now, particularly on regional flights with-in the country. Many Brazilians from the northor east have to travel to Rio or San Paulo in

order to get to the rest of the world. “We areinviting them to come to Suriname and thatis the reason why we operate five flights a weekout of Belem, and we are planning to do more,if possible with additional aircraft. We have astrong commitment with our southern neigh-bor, especially with the upcoming 2014 FIFAWorld Cup and the 2016 Olympics that willbe held in Brazil,” says Mr. Henshuijs.

The President and CEO adds: “We also oper-ate the Miami-Aruba link, which is three flightsa week, and now we have five flights a week in-to Miami, including the new route via George-town. We link Miami directly to Caricom, ourneighbors, and Suriname. Miami is importantas it is used as a gateway to the U.S. – that is why

we chose to serve Miami and connected withDelta Airlines to reach the rest of the UnitedStates. Our product in Miami is an exceptionalone as we strategically positioned ourselves tostand out from the competitors who are cuttingdown on the amenities they offer clients, such

as food and drinks andmaintain the high quality services.”

Going forward, Surinam Airways is plan-ning lots of new opportunities to facilitate Suri-name becoming the aviation hub of theCaribbean.

“We want to seek opportunities all over theworld, bearing in mind that it is a tough busi-ness, as you have to be conscious of your costs;there is one that you have no control over andthat is fuel,” explains Mr. Henshuijs. “Howev-er, there are costs you can control by makingthe best deal for your company, and those arethe ones we focus on. By reaching deals withother partners, you can really arrive at win-win situations and do business for years tocome. I must say that it works because we haveobtained, for example, a substantial reductionon the lease of our aircraft. I tell my partnersthat we may be a small airline but if they donot want our business, somebody else will.We need the best partners to be a stable air-line that is always on time and offers the bestservice.

“By keeping up with our obligations, we aresure that our clients, in turn, will continue fly-ing with us and our partners will continue tobe interested in Surinam Airways.”

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Suriname is leading the way forCaricom’s new ICT era

With around half a million inhabi-tants, Suriname is by no means alarge market, yet three cellular

phone service providers vie for a larger pieceof the pie.

The telecom companies enjoy good rela-tions with the Ministry of Tourism, Trans-port and Communication (MTTC), meetingwith the Minister, Falisie Pinas, on a quar-terly basis to discuss their plans and activ-ities . “We are also in touch with theTelecommunication Authority Suriname(TAS), the agency in charge of regulating thetelecom industry,” says Mr. Pinas. “For po-tential investors interested in learning aboutthe laws involved, TAS is the first organi-zation that they should approach.”

Telesur, the state-owned telecommuni-cations company, holds the largest share ofthe market at 60%, while 11-year-old Digi-cel Suriname – part of the Digicel Group Ltd.that has over 12.8 million customers acrossits 30 markets in Central America, theCaribbean and the Pacific – boasts one-third of the market. In third place, yet slow-ly gaining in popularity owing to itscompetitive prices, is Uniqa, the Surinameseaffiliate of Curaçao-based UTS.

Mobile telephony was only recently lib-eralized, and fixed-line and broadband ser-vices remain the sole domain of Telesur,which continuously seeks new innovationsand the best products and services for itsclients. In 2011, as it celebrated its 30th an-niversary, Telesur launched the Virtual Classe-Learning, a new brand for broadband In-ternet (Tele.i), and the Telesur MultimediaInnovation Laboratory.

Last year, Telesur hosted the 27th annualCaribbean Union of TelecommunicationsOrganizations (CANTO) Conference, whichis regarded as the Caribbean’s premier tele-coms event for industry professionals, aca-demics and regional governments.

At the opening ceremony, PresidentBouterse underscored the importance ofICT. “My government believes that the in-troduction and integration of ICT into theeconomy and into the field of education ispivotal in the shaping of our future,” he said,urging other Caribbean governments to pri-oritize further ICT development to achieveregional and global connectivity within afew years’ time. Indeed, the International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) has des-ignated 2015 as the year in which half theworld’s population should have access toInternet.

“One of our biggest challenges is connect-ing our whole country to our Internet net-work ,” says Mr. Pinas . “We work withcompanies willing to offer cutting-edge tech-nologies and innovative services that stim-ulate economic activity in Suriname.”

The first annual Virtual Educa Caribbean

was held from February 29 to March 2 thisyear in Paramaribo to coincide with the VIIInter-American Meeting of Ministers of Ed-ucation, and was organized by the Organi-zation of American States (OAS).

Under the banner of “The use of ICTs andinnovative approaches to enhance educa-tion”, the Virtual Educa Caribbean eventgathered hundreds of people from the ed-ucation sector, from government and fromthe general public. Teachers were trained in

new technologies and government officialslearned about regional and internationaleducational initiatives. Members of the gen-eral public were introduced for the firsttime to the exciting 21st Century VirtualClassroom.

Anton de Kom University was also one ofthe coordinators of the Virtual Classroomlaunch. “Hosting the Virtual Educa Confer-ence allowed Anton de Kom University tobroaden its network, establishing new con-tacts all over the Latin American mainland,”says its Chancellor, Dr. Ryan Sidin.

Meanwhile, Telesur continues takingsteps to expand Suriname’s physical digi-tal connectivity with the region with theSuriname Guyana Submarine Cable Sys-tem (SGSCS). Constructed by Huawei Ma-rine Networks and Global Marine Systems,the 776-mile long cable is a joint undertak-ing by Telesur and Guyana Telephone andTelegraph Co.

“This system will allow for the deploy-ment of cutting-edge communications ser-vices for the people, businesses andinstitutions of these countries,” says IanDouglas, Managing Director of Telecomsfor Global Marine Systems.

Suriname is encouraging Caribbean governments to adopt further development ofICT as a priority and achieve regional and global connectivity by 2015

Surinam Airways connects the U.S. and Caricom with new options for flights to Miami

Flying the flag for 50 years

We link Miami directly to Caricom, our neighbors, andSuriname. Miami is an important gateway. We alsoconnect the Caribbean with the Netherlands.

Ewald Henshuijs, President and CEO of Surinam Airways

‘We work withcompanies willing tooffer cutting-edgetechnologies andinnovative services thatstimulate economicactivity in Suriname.

Falisie Pinas, Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism

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Over the past three decades, WTEC Soléhas become a highly respected name forearthmoving and transportation ser-

vices. Better known locally as Solé, the compa-ny started out in 1980 as a small contractor inthe eastern part of Suriname under the name S.Kartodikromo in the district of Marowijne. How-ever, it has since developed into a trusted part-ner for public works, having successfullycompleted numerous civil engineering projectswith the government, as well as timber industryoperations and mining sector support services.Its future plans include local rejuevenation ini-tiatives and U.S. partnerships to extract greater

returns from the timber industry.In 2004, the company landed a contract with

BHP Billiton (Suralco) for the rental of large equip-ment and heavy machinery for mining activities.Nowadays, WTEC Solé participates in many dif-ferent projects, such as revetments, access roadsin the Moengo and Albina areas, reconditioninginfrastructure, building community centers, ren-ovating and building bridges, preparing areas forore mining, line cutting, sampling and spotting.

Business manager and daughter of the own-er, Tesora Kartodikromo, says: “We are focusedin the east of the country, where Suralco start-ed in 1916. With the East-West Highway that ishopefully coming in 2014, I think there are manyopportunities for French Guiana and Surinameto create an entirely mobile population again. Mo-engo, where we are based, is currently a veryquiet town, with no-one there. However, wecould attract people back there from the citieswith the right amenities and services. But it willtake a couple years before that can happen, be-cause Moengo does not even have a bar right now.”

Ms. Kartodikromo explains that the forestrybusiness, which is a main target for the compa-ny, is one of Florida’s most valuable assets, con-tributing more than US$16 billion to the localeconomy on a yearly basis, and how there are ma-jor opportunities for foreign companies to getinvolved in Suriname’s timber sector.

“In Suriname we only produce a 40% yield onwood, so my vision is to seek American knowl-edge and technology in order to convert thewaste produced by the timber industry intosomething productive,” she says.

“I know some people who are already doingthings like that, but it costs a lot of money. If youcan do something with that waste, you can man-age it better and generate more energy. But thatis something we need to look into more, becausethere are so many possibilities. I think we willhave something in place in that respect in a cou-ple of years from now.”

Florida has huge significance for the future

opportunities of Suriname’s development and canalso offer Moengo a great deal of know-how todevelop different elements of the local econo-my. WTEC Solé therefore aims to strengthen itsrelationship with the southern U.S. state on anongoing basis.

“Florida has the knowledge, skills, and financewe need, and this is one of the most importantareas where we have to strengthen ties with Mi-ami,” explains Ms. Kartodikromo. “We alreadygo to Miami on vacation and deal with suppli-ers there. So the business links are already inplace, but they need to be strengthened.”

WTEC Solé’s in-depth mining experience isthere to be tapped. “If we collaborated with anAmerican company, they would profit from ourlocal knowledge, of where all the minerals are,and our local workforce who are capable of do-ing the job,” Ms. Kartodikromo. “We have somuch experience in mining from Suralco’s baux-ite mine, the forestry industry, and the environ-ment. There are many opportunities tocollaborate. WTEC Solé also has the trust of thepeople here in Moengo, and we are the onlyleading local company there. That is what makesus so reliable.”

Ms. Kartodikromo believes Surinamese com-panies need to make more noise in promotingtheir businesses and strengths internationally,“because most companies here just stay local,”

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Suriname’s government is well aware thatto rise to its full potential, infrastructuredevelopment is a must. When the 2012

government budget was approved in February,roads, bridges, public schools and housing wereall designated as key areas.

Improved transportation infrastructure couldlikely transform Suriname into a major hub thatcould link several countries within the region.The country has approximately 28,000 miles ofmajor and minor roads, although most are un-paved. Two main arterial roads run through,called the Northern East-West Link and theSouthern East-West Link. The former stretch-es from border to border, while the latter leavesfrom Apoera on the Guyana front and windsits way up to Paramaribo.

As of yet, no roads link Suriname to its south-ern neighbor – making these two the only SouthAmerican nations not directly connected byland – but there is a master plan to connect Para-maribo to Macapa in Brazil, via Pokigron ineastern Suriname and Brazil’s TumucumaquePark (the world’s largest protected continuouspiece of pristine rain forest). The new route,which would consist of both road and railway,would link up with the existing highway thatruns through Brazil’s Pedra Branca do Amapariand on to Macapa on the Amazon Delta.

A recent Business Monitor International re-port stated that the “most significant feature ofthe investment agreements are the plans tomake Suriname a major transport hub linkingnorthern Brazil (and the Amazon) to theCaribbean. The deepwater port combined withroad and rail links to the Brazilian border shouldmake Suriname a focal point of trade in the re-gion, particularly given that neighbor Guyanahas so far proved unsuccessful in its plans todevelop its own deepwater port.”

The Suriname-Brazil land connection pro-ject has found financial backing in China. In2010, Minister of Public Works Ramon Abra-hams signed Memoranda of Understanding(MoUs) with two Chinese companies: ChengDon International and China Harbor, for US$6billion worth of investments. Other projectsinclude the construction of a new deep-sea har-bor, a sea dam from Albina to Nickerie, a newhighway from Paramaribo to the Johan Adolf

Pengel International Airport, and 8,000 low-income houses.

Financing from other Chinese sources willgo towards building bridges that will span theCorentyne and the Marowijne rivers, whichform the natural borders between Suriname andGuyana and French Guiana, respectively.

Feasibility studies have already been conduct-ed for the Corentyne River bridge and the pro-posed location is South Drain, Suriname toParrot Island to mainland Guyana. The presi-dents of Suriname and Guyana, who hope thebridge will be completed by 2014, have observedthat a road link would not only bridge states buteconomies and cultures, as well.

Investments in road improvements and bridgebuilding, as well as hydroelectric dams, riverwaysand telecommunications links fall under a de-velopment plan dubbed the Initiative for the In-tegration of the Regional Infrastructure of SouthAmerica (IIRSA), which seeks to connect SouthAmerica’s economies.

When President Bouterse was voted into pow-er, one of his policy priorities was to close Suri-name’s housing deficit. He committed to building18,000 houses during his term with a specialview to the low and middle-income segments.Whereas previously, the Surinamese govern-ment built new subsidized homes and did all thepaperwork, a new program – called the Low In-come Shelter Program – is giving individualhouseholds more responsibility and autonomyand consequently lowering program costs.

Paving the way to a prosperous futureSuriname is gearingup to be a regionaltransportation hub, with theconstruction andrehabilitation of keyinfrastructure

The idea of linkingSuriname to itsneighbors is part ofthe Initiative forthe Integration ofthe RegionalInfrastructure ofSouth America.Ramon Abrahams,Minister of Public Works

WTEC Solé leads modernization processReady to work with foreign multinationals,WTEC Solé is looking beyond earthmoving,mining and timber to develop communities

she says. “They are not expanding due to a lackof knowledge. We have the vision, but we do nothave to tools to execute that vision. Florida canprovide us with those tools and technologies.”

WTEC Solé is also involved with the Min-istry of Regional Development, which aims to

make a difference to the variouscommunities of Suriname. Thetwo partners have been workingtogether in various projects suchas the road construction to con-nect Moengo to Ricanaumofo inthe Marowijne district, the con-struction of a community centerin Ricanaumofo, the clearing ofthe verges for the Wanhati road,and the reconditioning of all roadsin the Moengo area.

The environment, its protec-tion and sustainability, is highon WTCE Solé’s agenda and thecompany was recently awardedISO 9001 quality certification. Italso boasts the OccupationalHealth and Safety AssessmentSeries (OHSAS) 18001, in addi-tion to the ISO 14001 for theenvironment. The company’srecognized quality assurance issomething it would like to high-light to people in Florida.

“Everything today is aboutglobal warming,” says Ms. Kar-todikromo. “We have to focuson the environment, and theenvironmentally friendly as-pects of Suriname. I know thatwe have a lot of potential inmining and forestry, and for

some people like Greenpeace that is not nec-essarily a good thing to promote. But min-ing and forestry can be done in a mannerthat is environmentally friendly, responsi-ble, and sustainable. My vision is to promotethe environment.”

My vision is to seek American knowledge andtechnology in order to convert the waste producedby the timber industry into something productive. Tesora KartodikromoBusiness Manager of WTEC Solé

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Discover beautiful Suriname

Suriname is one of the most beautiful coun-tries of the world, known for its breathtak-ing locations with ultimate natural splendor.

Lying on the northern coast of South America,Suriname is strategically located with FrenchGuiana to the east, Guyana to the West, Brazil tothe south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.

Dutch is the official language in Suriname andthe European country’s influence still can be no-ticed, in particular in the capital city, Paramaribo,where the majority of the population (roughly halfa million) lives. Suriname’s villages are a true rev-erence for the nation’s fascinating past with nameslike Nieuw Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), Utrecht,Waterloo, Calcutta, Manchester and Glasgow.

Divided into 10 districts, Suriname is one of the last countries in the world withlargely virgin rainforests and savannas, a fact which makes it one of the most sought-after destinations for researchers, nature-lovers, cruises and adventurous tourists.In fact, approximately 30% of Suriname’s total land area has been declared as a pro-tected area or as a nature reserve, an ode to the breathtaking and unspoilt beautythat the country has to offer.

Creating a contrast to the country’s lush, densegreenery are the pristine beaches located in Gali-bi or Albina, where firsthand glimpses of the mat-ing process of leatherback sea turtles are possible.Alternatively, visitors can look out for river dolphinsor take in the mangrove forests that are plentiful-ly located at the edge of the ocean, all the while en-joying the renowned laidback charming nature ofthe Surinamese people.

To help tourism flourish and encourage thepromising economic growth this sector can yieldfor the nation, the administration has introduceda new tourist card aimed at easing travel in andout of the country. Tourists can now buy a touristcard when they check in for a flight to Suriname;

they only need to present a passport that is valid for at least six months and a returnticket. The new card means that travelers don’t need to wait for a visa. Also, there areno forms to fill out and happily the cards are cheaper than visas.

According to Suriname’s Consul General Roy Lieuw A. Sie: “The tourist card meanspeople can now travel more easily to Suriname, so we expect traffic to increase. Peo-ple are enthused; they react positively to the new measure.”

The hotel offers just the right bal-ance for everyone. From its lux-urious and spacious guest rooms

to its outdoor facilities such as a pool andfitness center to its award-winningrestaurant “Flavors Steak and GrillBistro”, Courtyard by Marriott is yourfirst choice of stay in Paramaribo.

Opened in early 2010 the hotel is theonly one in the capital that is located di-rectly on the majestic Suriname Riverwith breathtaking views from itsRiverview rooms, and prides itself on itsexcellent service from its friendly anddedicated associates. The hotel just recent-ly received the Service Excellence Awardfrom TripAdvisor, a statement of excel-

lent service which ensures that guestsare able to not only relax but also stay

productive while on business.The hotel also offers excellentrestaurant and outdoor dining

options.

The talented Executive Chef RandySmith, born and raised in Barbados,quickly adapted to the large variety ofproducts offered here in the very fertilebackyard of Suriname. He chooses hisproducts from local farmers, fishermanand local purveyors and adds a touch ofCaribbean, Mediterranean, Indian andIndonesian flavors. His seafood and steakdishes are the highlights of his menu, aswell as local dishes such as Pom (a deli-ciously baked chicken pie made fromTayer root) and Bang Bang, a local silversnapper grilled and prepared with a mildspicy Creole sauce. The restaurant alsoprides itself on having the largest selec-tion of wine labels.

Suriname is equally famous for itsAmazon fishing and has exactly whatfishing fans need: a huge fresh water lakewith a plentiful supply of the famoustoekonarie, known as the Peacock Bass,to be caught. For great family fun foreverybody, please inquire about our ho-tel/fishing packages.

Also, in 2012 the hotel plans to add thefirst gravel tennis court and an expansionof the pool deck and outdoor restaurantseating.

So whether traveling for business orleisure, Courtyard by Marriott Paramari-bo is the ideal place to stay.

For information please visit our web-site at www.marriott.com or call us at00597 45600.

Being a beautiful destination is onething, preserving that beauty is quiteanother, but Suriname is aiming to

do just that. By far the most impressive evidence of

Suriname’s conservation ambition thusfar is the Central Suriname Nature Re-serve (CSNR), a UNESCO World Her-itage site since 2000. This stunning naturereserve comprises 1.6 million hectares(roughly the size of New Jersey) of prima-ry tropical forest and covers a range oftopography and ecosystems of notableconservation value due to its pristine state.

The CSNR safeguards some of themost isolated, primeval, and pristinewilderness the world over and is knownto contain more than 400 of Suriname’sknown bird species, including scarlet,

red-and-green and blue-and-goldmacaws and the harpy eagle. It is alsohome to all eight species of Suriname’smonkey population including the white-faced saki, the common squirrel monkeyand the black spider monkey. Monkeysand birds are not its only inhabitants, asjaguars, armadillos, otters and sloths al-so exist side by side in this incredible na-ture reserve.

As this tropical rain forest is uninhab-ited by humans, it provides a valuablebaseline for biological and ecologicalresearch useful for the conservation of

other tropical ecosystems, and has plantgene-pool benefits. The presence of ge-ological features (inselbergs), is also ofgreat conservation value.

Much of the reserve has yet to be ex-plored, thus the true extent of the site’sdiversity is not fully known. Neverthe-less, visitors can enjoy great sights andactivities, from jungle walks to hikingup the peak of Mount Voltzberg, to ex-ploring the gorgeous Raleigh waterfalls.

The world’s largest protected rain for-est is not in Brazil or Borneo as onemight have thought, but is in fact

firmly planted in Suriname. This is some-thing that travel publications have recentlycottoned on to, so much so that this sparse-ly populated nation has been anointed as oneof the next best eco-tourism destinationson the planet.

Minister of Tourism, Transport and Com-munication Falisie Pinas reinforces this point:

“Suriname is a very green nation and this givesus an advantage in the area of eco-tourism.People can enjoy various nature-related ac-tivities. It is your quintessential paradisewith rolling forests and a healthy rainforestfilled with a variety of flora and fauna.”

All one has to do is look at the Central Suri-name Nature Reserve to see why the coun-try is keen to market itself as the top spotfor eco-tourism.

The nation’s forests have been protectedrather than harvested and by doing this, Suri-name is effectively gambling that the futurewill bring more than the current stream ofgreen-minded tourists. Foengoe Island iswhere Conservation International has con-structed a tourism compound with a tradi-tional longhouse as its centerpiece.

As well as the tropical rain forests as anattraction, during the summer months thecoastal areas of Suriname are visited by nest-ing sea turtles. These large creatures comeashore in a protected area known as the Gal-ibi Nature Resort. The beach is accessibleonly by boat and its only inhabitants are na-tive people who live a subsistence lifestylein two local villages.

Suriname’s eco-tourism drive has alsobeen helped along the way by STINASU, anonprofit group that champions the coun-try’s nature conservation as well as beingone of the top eco-tourism operators in thecountry.

Central Suriname Reserve The next eco-tourism hotspotThis pristine park is home to a widevariety of flora and fauna, includingjaguars, sloths and primates

As Suriname has protected its naturalbeauty, it is now prepared to be a topSouth American eco-tourism destination

Whether forbusiness orpleasure gueststruly enjoy a stayat the Courtyardby Marriott inParamaribo

The architectureof Paramaribo’sCourtyard byMarriott is inharmony with the Dutch-colonialbuildings of ‘thewooden city of the Caribbean’

The smallest country in South America blends a fascinating diversity with the magic of the Amazon rainforest

The place to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Paramaribo