President Santokhi received the preliminary draft report "Suriname 2050: Sustainable Path to Broad Prosperity" from the Strategic Working Group on Oil and Gas Policy. The document - presented by steering committee member Wim Dwarkasing - responds to the presidential mandate to establish a robust framework for future oil and gas revenues.
The report details cooperation with international oil concerns: from agreements on offshore production to the tariff and participation models by which Suriname guarantees its revenues. The proposed capital allocation focuses on maintaining the Savings and Stabilization Fund, streamlining the government budget and modernizing the comptroller's office.
Central to this is an investment strategy that prioritizes education, health, environment, quality of life and land use planning. Although concrete new sector initiatives are still being worked out in more detail, there are already outlines for infrastructure and energy projects. Here, "local content" plays a key role: strengthening the Surinamese supply chain and promoting knowledge transfer to domestic companies.
Governance transparency and institutional anchoring are identified as indispensable conditions for long-term growth. The working group therefore calls for the creation of a Long-Term Development Plan and the establishment of a National Development Agency to oversee implementation and compliance with established goals.
As a draft version, the report now enters public consultation: civil society organizations and individual citizens can submit comments via the General Planning Office website. After incorporating this feedback, the final policy paper is expected to be presented and formally endorsed in early 2026.
