President heads high level team to UN General Assembly meeting
President Donald Ramotar
President Donald Ramotar

PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar is heading a high-level team to the United Nations’ General Assembly Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on September 22.

Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Accompanying the President will be First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Elisabeth Harper. Expected to join the delegation, is Amerindian Affairs Minister, Pauline Sukhai, who is slated to attend the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples. Ambassador George Talbot while other officers from the Guyana Mission in New York will also form part of Guyana’s delegation.
Ms. Rodrigues-Birkett during an interview with the Government Information Agency (GINA) said apart from the UN General Assembly where the President will make a presentation, there are several other meetings this year. She noted that whilst the international community is busy discussing the post-2015 development agenda with the deadlines for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) being 2015, the focus now is post- 2015.

UN Headquarters in New York
UN Headquarters in New York

The minister observed that additionally, the climate change agenda is picking up, with an international agenda set for a legally binding agreement for 2015. As such, she pointed out that in the margins of the UN General Assembly there will be a climate change summit to be hosted by the UN Secretary General, Ban-ki-Moon. President Ramotar is slated to make a presentation during this summit.
The Foreign Affairs Minister said Mr. Ramotar is expected to speak about promises and commitment for financing, relating to mitigation and adaptation. Guyana, along with other small developing countries, is not pleased with the delivery of those commitments. In fact there has been little delivery and the Green Climate Fund has not been fully operational she explained. These facts, she said will be pointed out by the President in his presentation.
In addition, the fact that while the Secretary General has indicated that countries should attend the General Assembly, prepared to make ambitious commitments, countries in the Caribbean have not contributed to the problem of climate change.
What Caribbean countries would like to see is the fulfillment of commitments which have been made, the Foreign Minister stated. However, the meeting will be tight with only four minutes per presentation being allowed to heads of delegations, which will see Guyana ensuring that all the topics are covered during that period.
In addition to the Climate Change meeting, the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples will see Ms. Sukhai and Chairman of the National Toshaos Council (NTC), Derrick John participating. The minister added that the head of the NTC and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been involved in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples for several years and the Conference actually came about through that forum. She explained that there are several round-table meetings slated where Ms. Sukhai will make presentations highlighting Guyana’s experiences where a lot has been done for the development of indigenous people even as there remains a far way to go.
While Guyana is willing to share its experiences, the indigenous component of the delegation will also look at the statistics regarding the issues of indigenous peoples on the international scene. Whilst these figures are not what the world should be proud about, they will be addressed in the international arena.
Ms. Rodrigues-Birkett stated that with Guyana as part of the Global Education First Initiative, the meeting will be attended by President Ramotar who is a member of the Committee. Guyana is the only CARICOM country on that committee which meets annually. She pointed out that he will highlight the fact that some developing countries have not been able to meet some of the MDGs, and that in order to reach all the children of the world, difficult issues such as copyright and balance will have to be dealt with.
Meanwhile the Minister said that the Foreign Affairs part of the delegation will also be busy during the UN General Assembly with herself chairing the COFCOR meeting which will also meet in the margins of the General Assembly. Issues relevant to CARICOM will be addressed along with bi-laterals with the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
Ms. Rodrigues-Birkett said she is also slated to attend the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting which will see Guyana and Belize updating the meeting regarding border matters among other issues. The Commonwealth will also discuss the development of the post-2015 agenda along with the reform of the Commonwealth.
There will also be meetings regarding UNASUR and CELAC among others where the Guyana delegation will utilise the opportunity to discuss issues important to the country and the Region. The fact that Guyana has moved up to a middle income country and would not now be eligible for funding as before will also be discussed during the meetings.
At the annual Assembly Meeting, foreign ministers, diplomats and world leaders of the 192 members of the United Nations will discuss a wide range of issues in national and international affairs.
The Guyana delegation will spend approximately one week at the General Assembly after which President Ramotar will visit the diaspora in the U.S.A. before returning home, the minister said.

(GINA)

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