WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — The Organisation of American States (OAS) says the delegations of Belize and Guatemala, headed by their respective Foreign Ministers, have met with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro to begin to negotiate the terms of a cooperation mechanism for the Sarstoon River.

On Wednesday, the OAS an agreement was reached by the parties in Istanbul, Turkey, where they met within the framework of the World Humanitarian Summit from May 23-24, 2016.

“In this regard, the General Secretariat of the OAS is pleased to inform that good progress was made during the meeting, which concentrated on the development of best practices for the de-escalation of tensions in the Sarstoon River,” the OAS said.

It said the meeting was held with the full participation of the Secretary General of the OAS and his staff, “and was attended by the relevant institutions in the process.”

The OAS said the ministers were accompanied by the commanders of the Belize Defence Force and of the Guatemalan Army, the countries; Ambassadors to the US, and the Permanent Representatives to the OAS, among other high ranking diplomats.

Guatemala and Belize have had a long running border dispute with Guatemala claiming the whole or part of Belize since 1940.