Suriname maintains economic ties with other South American countries.
Suriname ( [ ˈsʊrᵻnæm ] , [ - nɑːm ] or [ - nəm ] , also spelled Surinam ) , officially known as the Republic of Suriname ( Republiek Suriname [ ˌreːpyˈblik ˌsyːriˈnaːmə ] ) , is a sovereign state on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America . On 25 November 1975 , the country of Suriname left the Kingdom of the Netherlands to become an independent state , nonetheless maintaining close economic , diplomatic , and cultural ties to its former colonizer .