PRESIDENT David Granger has requested U.S. help to secure the Caribbean as a zone of peace. This development comes as Guyana presses on to have the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy resolved at the International Court of Justice.

In his message on Friday to newly-appointed US Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Perry Holloway, shortly after he had received his credentials at the Ministry of the Presidency, President Granger said: “We desire security that is essential to promoting and consolidating democracy, creating a cohesive society and ensuring the good life for all. We desire respect for our sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

It was explained that Guyana’s geographical location on the mainland of the South American continent makes it vulnerable to penetration by transnational criminal networks and territorial claims -– both of which can undermine peace and security.
Nevertheless, the President said, Guyana stands resolved to defend its territory, dismantle transnational criminal networks, and develop its natural resources for the benefit of its people.

“The capabilities of criminal cartels, however, can exceed those of small states. We must seek succour and support through partnerships with other states which have an interest in preserving the Caribbean as a zone of peace,” he declared.

Reflecting on the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 2009, President Granger recalled that President Barack Obama had pledged to deepen security cooperation with small Caribbean states; and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, he said, is the enduring fulfilment of that commitment.

During a meeting with leaders of the small Caribbean states in Bridgetown, Barbados, in May 1997, President Bill Clinton had signed the Bridgetown Declaration of Principles, thereby setting the foundation for an enduring commitment to defend small Caribbean states. This was followed by a similar engagement with President George Bush and Caribbean leaders in New York, USA back in September 2003.

As such, President Granger said, Guyana is encouraged by the high-level engagements between small Caribbean states and the U.S., and he reaffirmed this country’s commitment to working with the U.S. in an effort to strengthen cooperation under the framework of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, in order to ensure peace, stability and security.

“We are encouraged by the continued interest that the USA has shown in the security of small Caribbean states. The USA’s geopolitical role will be fundamental to addressing the many challenges faced by the Caribbean Region. We wish to urge the USA to use its influence in the hemisphere and on the international stage to reject the use, or threat of the use, of force between states, to promote development and to preserve the Caribbean as a zone of peace,” President Granger said.

He declared that Guyana looks forward to US support in its legitimate quest to protect itself against terrorism, transnational crime, and threats to its territorial integrity.

Guyana and the US have, for more than 50 years, enjoyed cordial relations in a productive partnership which has seen the promotion of democracy, human rights, energy, health, security, trade, economic freedom, social cohesion, and other areas of mutual interest.

President Granger’s renewed call to the US comes just days after he had urged the United Nations to curb Venezuela’s “expansionist ambitions.”

“Venezuela’s expansionist ambitions cannot be allowed to unsettle the principle of inviolability of borders, undermine the tenets of international law, and unravel borders which have been undisturbed for decades,” President Granger told that august forum as he delivered his maiden address to the UN General Assembly.

His address made it clear that Guyana does not wish to have this obnoxious territorial claim obstruct its possibility for growth for the next 50 years.