On July 19, the Director General of the IADB Secretariat, Brigadier Major Flávio Luiz de Oliveira Pinto (Brazil), accompanied by Colonel Matthew Heim (USA), Director of the Undersecretary of Services and Advisory, received the visit of an important delegation from Suriname, led by Defense Minister Krishnakoemari Mathoera.
The objective of the meeting was to establish an initial dialogue on the possibilities of technical support from the IADB to the Ministry of Defense of Suriname on important current issues - such as cyber defense, natural disasters, environment, humanitarian aid, maritime security, terrorism, organized crime, human rights and international humanitarian law, among others - in order to contribute to the areas of security and defense of the country.
Strategically located on the northern part of the Atlantic coast of South America, Suriname has an estimated population of 650,000 and borders Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana, while maintaining strong cultural ties with Caribbean nations as a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
The oldest multilateral defense organization in the world, the IADB, was created during World War II, with the initial mission of studying and proposing measures for the defense of the continent, a task that it has carried out successfully and uninterruptedly throughout throughout its more than 80 years of existence.
The Suriname delegation was made up of Colonel Werner Kioe-A-Sem, Commander of the Armed Forces; Jayantkoemar Bidesie, Deputy Director of Finance of the Ministry of Defense; and Ambassador J. Marten W. Schalkwijk, Permanent Representative of Suriname to the Organization of American States.
