We report now on the rival leader whose political party is currently in government. Last Friday, we showed you how Prime Minister John Briceno took the international stage at the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which was held in New York.
He made a 24-minute presentation on Belize's behalf to the other world leaders who were in attendance. When he returned to the country on Saturday afternoon, our news team was that the international airport, and we asked him about the experience as Belize's lead government official. Here's what he had to say about his official trip to the UN:
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"It's something that you could never get used to. I had had the privilege of addressing the United Nations probably about 2 or 3 times before. But at that time, I was Deputy Prime Minister."
"I am very grateful to the Belizean people for giving me that opportunity to be able to speak on their behalf."
"There were a number of meetings that we had, and especially when it comes to the issues of climate change, raising funds for our protected areas, looking at the issue of the environment and setting up targets and goals, and partnering with NGOs, the private sector, and government to be able to raise the necessary funds that we'll need."
"The people in finance in the United States are recognizing that climate change is real; climate change is upon us, and it's not something that they can do alone. They're going to need countries like Belize to assist, and certainly, Belize, being a low-lying state, needs all the help for the preparation, the mitigation against climate change."