PARAMARIBO, Suriname, President Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi will attend the January 1 inauguration of Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Foreign Affairs, International Business, and International Cooperation Minister, Albert Ramdin has confirmed.
He told the Suriname-based online publication, Starnieuws, that the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country needs to be represented at the highest level and that it Santokhi will invite Lula to make an official visit to Suriname to discuss the strategic relationship between Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname.
Ramdin says the presidential delegation will travel to Brazil on New Year’s Day and include the first lady Mellisa Santokhi-Seenacherry.
Heads of state from South America, the Caribbean, and Europe, among others, will be present at the inauguration.
In October, Lula won Brazil’s election by a whisker, defeating incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a closely-fought second-round vote.
Brazil’s election authority said Lula, a former union leader previously president between 2003 and 2010, secured 50.8 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election compared with 49.2 percent for Bolsonaro.
Brazil is one of the major economies in the world. President-elect Lula is also committed to the environment and climate.
President Santokhi and his delegation will return on January 2.
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