AGAINST the backdrop of the recent discovery of oil here, President David Granger will lead a Guyana delegation to a major oil summit in Saudi Arabia next week. The Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA) is a mechanism for South-South cooperation and policy coordination in multilateral forums. Created in 2003, with the aim of bringing political leaders and civil societies of South American countries and member countries of the League of Arab States closer together, and promoting diplomatic coordination on issues of common interest, this year’s conference will be held from November 9 to 13.
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said that Guyana’s attendance is of critical importance at this time and has necessitated the attendance of President Granger and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge. “It is of national importance that Guyana, as an emerging oil-producing State, participate in this strategic summit,” the OPM said in its statement. ASPA is a bi-regional mechanism for cooperation and political coordination. ASPA is made up of the 22 member states of the League of Arab States and the 12 countries of South America
The First ASPA Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Brasilia, on May 10 and 11, 2005, marked the formal organisation of ASPA, which is composed of 34 countries – 12 from South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela) and the 22 members of the League of Arab States (LAS) (Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Qatar, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia). The First Summit also recognised the integration of organisations from both regions – the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) – as ASPA members.