Oil, Venezuela discussed
President David Granger and Minister of State Joseph Harmon meeting with the U.S Delegation led by Republican Bob Goodlatte. Republicans Steve Cohen, John Rutherford, Scott Peters, Mark Sanford, Richard Hutson and Tod Rokita, and U.S Ambassador Perry Holloway were among those present
President David Granger and Minister of State Joseph Harmon meeting with the U.S Delegation led by Republican Bob Goodlatte. Republicans Steve Cohen, John Rutherford, Scott Peters, Mark Sanford, Richard Hutson and Tod Rokita, and U.S Ambassador Perry Holloway were among those present

…as Guyana, US Congressional delegation hold talks

DEEPER cooperation between Guyana and the US can create a dent in the trafficking of people, guns and ammunition, narcotics and contraband goods through Guyana porous borders, President David Granger said shortly after meeting with a US Congressional Delegation on Thursday at the Ministry of the Presidency.

The team, which was headed by Republican Bob Goodlatte, included Republicans Steve Cohen, John Rutherford, Scott Peters, Mark Sanford, Richard Hutson and Tod Rokita and other officials including U.S Ambassador Perry Holloway. Guyana Chronicle was told that the two sides also discussed a range of issues including the oil sector and the Venezuela border controversy as well as that country’s economic crises.

In an interview with the Public Information and Press Services Unit, the Head of State while describing the meeting as a “fact-finding” mission, said the two sides discussed cooperation in the areas of security, energy and disaster response and preparedness.

“The (Guyana/Venezuela) territorial controversy has been our biggest concern but most recently, and because of our long borders we have a 1,300 kilometres with Brazil, 800 kilometres nearly with Venezuela and also with Suriname… we don’t have the assets to protect our borders and there has been some trafficking across the borders; trafficking in guns, trafficking in persons, trafficking in narcotics and trafficking in other contraband goods.”

“These are areas where there could be deeper and more intense cooperation between the United States and Guyana,” President Granger said.

CAN BE STRENGTHENED
Guyana through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has received much needed assistance from the United States in the area of disaster preparedness and management, and the President believes that partnership in this area can be strengthened.
“Again, this is one area that we want to continue our collaboration with the United States because we don’t have the airlift or the technical capabilities to respond to these disasters,” President Granger explained.

President David Granger, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Minister of State Joseph Harmon flanked by the U.S Congressmen and U.S Ambassador Perry Holloway

While the issues of trafficking of people, guns and ammunition, narcotics; and disaster preparedness and management were brought to the fore by the President, the Congressmen reportedly expressed particular interest in the energy sector and the possibility of access to cheap electricity for Guyanese and other stakeholders.
“We explained that we’re not wedded to one concept. Some areas may have solar, some areas may have hydro, some areas may have wind, some areas may have natural gas so we’re looking at a mix of energy sources and we’re confident that we’ll bring the tariff rate down to below US$0.15 cents per kilowatt hour. Maybe we’ll keep moving downwards and have cheap energy and this will be important to manufacturers. So some of the questions were concerned with the possibility of cheap energy,” the President explained.

Those aside, the meeting largely focused on four areas: a geographic overview of Guyana, its hemispheric affiliations and shared borders; a strategic outline, which outlined the Guyana/ Venezuela Border controversy, territorial controversy with Suriname, Guyana’s international relations and the migration of Venezuelans into Guyana; an economic overview, which dealt with the traditional sectors, the emerging oil and gas sector and Guyana’s pursuit of a ‘green’ agenda; and environmental conservation.
“I dealt with the geographic scenario and the fact that Guyana is a continental state. It is a part of the South-American continent but with Caribbean characteristics. It’s the only English-speaking State and as a result of that we have lots of advantages, but at the same time, you know, we are not only perceived as the gateway to South America for the Caribbean but we’re the gateway to the Caribbean for South America. Our geographic situation has, of course, implications for border security because of the territorial claim by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and also claims by Suriname. So, they were interested in that and I gave them the assurance that we are on our way to the peaceful resolution of the territorial controversy with Venezuela,” the Head of State noted.

STABLE COUNTRY
The final area covered Guyana’s political and governance systems.

“The [other] area I dealt with was political. I gave them the assurance, truthfully, that Guyana is a very stable country, law-abiding country, and our National Assembly functions, our judiciary functions independently and also the executive branch. So, those three branches are separate and the executive does not interfere in the judiciary or the autonomous commissions, like the Guyana Elections Commission, the Judicial Service Commission and so on. So, I think from the point of view of governance, we were able to explain that Guyana is a stable, well-governed state,” he said.

The Head of State said Guyana’s ‘green’ agenda was also discussed and the team was impressed with Guyana’s commitment to protecting the environment.

“They were quite impressed with our environment [and] our commitment to the environment. We believe that climate change can have harmful effects and we’re taking measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. We can see that our coastal zones are being damaged partly as a result of global warming and we are committed to protecting our rivers, protecting our air quality, protecting our forests. So, we’re able to explain and convince them of our commitment to protecting the environment even as we go more deeply into the extractive industries,” he noted.

Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon were also present in the meeting.

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