On Friday, President Chan Santokhi discussed challenges to conducting business and investing in Suriname with a number of stakeholders. At the Suriname Energy Oil and Gas Summit, the hurdles were discussed. The president declared, “We want to go from ‘doing business in Suriname’ to ‘easing up doing business in Suriname.
With the growth of the oil and gas industry, Suriname’s progress and wealth from partnerships with legitimate foreign businesses and investors will increase. It is now clear that there are problems when conducting business with foreigners. This is partly because operating in Suriname presents challenges for foreign professionals.
One of the obstacles concerns the unwieldy bureaucracy for obtaining a work and residence permit and residence in Suriname. Concrete proposals have been made by the government to shorten that process for the foreigners who come to work here. According to President Santokhi, it is important to facilitate doing business in Suriname, the Suriname Communication Service reports.
We discussed with the Surinamese Bankers Association how banking in Suriname can be made easier for foreigners who are used to using a credit card. Furthermore, flights to Suriname have been discussed with various airlines. There are currently no direct flights to Suriname from the United States of America where many of the experts come from.
The transport and storage of explosive substances, required in the oil and gas industry, was also discussed during the maintenance. The latter also involves the procedures to be followed in the event of an oil spill at sea and the involvement of countries that may be directly affected. The Presidential Working Group on Inventory and Advice on Explosive and/or Hazardous Substances will present solutions in this regard.