– UN Secretary-General

SECRETARY-GENERAL of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon, Saturday said he would make an “assessment by November” on the way forward with regard to the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

He gave the undertaking during a meeting with President David Granger at United Nations’ Headquarters in New York, the Ministry of the Presidency stated.

President Granger accepted the timetable and committed to providing any additional information, which Mr Ban may need in order to complete that assessment.

“We have been very impressed with the seriousness with which you have approached the problem and your own sincerity… We have been personally convinced that you want to bring closure to this matter,” the President said to Mr Ban.

In a brief, invited comment, following the meeting, President Granger added, “We support the process.  We are confident that this process will lead to a conclusion that is satisfactory.”

Also attending the meeting on behalf of Guyana were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge; Sir Shridath Ramphal, who was present at the signing of the Geneva Agreement in 1966 between the United Kingdom, on behalf of the then British Guiana and Venezuela; and Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Audrey Waddell.

It was on the eve of Guyana’s independence some five decades ago that Venezuela claimed the 1899 arbitral award which defined the two countries’ borders was null and void. An agreement signed in Geneva in 1966 provides for the secretary-general to take action to bring a resolution to the contention by Venezuela.

Following statements and actions by Venezuela, President Granger indicated to the United Nations Secretary-General that the process of talks has worn out and that Guyana was interested in a final legal settlement to Venezuela’s claim that the arbitral award is null and void.

Guyana has accused Venezuela of a series of acts of aggression, starting with a presidential decree of June 1968. The border controversy flared early last year when American firm ExxonMobil announced that it had made a “significant” oil discovery.

After threatening the company, the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro issued a decree on May 26th, 2015, seeking to extend Venezuela’s land claim to also annex the country’s maritime space.

Three years ago, the Venezuelans sent a naval ship into Guyana’s waters and seized a U.S.-chartered oil survey ship and escorted it to Margarita Island.

In September last year, Guyanese authorities also said that the Venezuela army had travelled up the Cuyuni River.

In October, 2015, Canada-based mining company Guyana Goldfields said it had received an “unfounded” notification of possible legal action by Venezuela over its operations in Guyana.