Welcome
Dear Visitor,
It is our pleasure to welcome you to the website of the Delegation of the European Union to Suriname, where you will be able to explore and share information about the EU and our activities in Suriname.
Suriname and EU have shared historical and cultural ties for centuries. Relations between the Dutch and Surinamese endure for almost 350 years, and as a consequence, many European cultural traditions and most importantly the Dutch the official language were kept in this country.
Besides that, Suriname is the only ACP country to share a territorial border with the European Union – more than 500 kilometres separate it from French Guyana, which has also given origin to special neighbouring relations.
For the abovementioned reasons, the EU remains a major partner of Suriname: Both entities are involved in different framework of cooperation (ACP-EU, EU-RIO GROUP and EU-LAC) involving political dialogues, programmes and technical assistance aiming to achieve joined goals of growth, development, democracy and human rights.
For more than thirty years the European Union has enjoyed a close relationship with Suriname encompassing cooperation not only in political and trade dialogue, but in grant funding for development assistance. This assistance spans across almost all sectors of development: agriculture, education, private sector development, social and rural development and infrastructure.
On the other hand, regional developments are also providing new horizons. The signing of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, in October 2008 represents an opportunity for socio-economic development through trade expansion and private sector development. The agreement, which aims to foster regional integration, provides quota and duty free access to EU markets amongst other benefits, and will be accompanied by significant financial support.
We expect the information presented can further stimulate the mutually beneficial partnership between the European Union and Suriname. Your feedback is very important so don't hesitate to contact us so we can ameliorate this service.
Thank you all for showing interest in the European Union and please comeback to visit us at any time!