By Ariana Gordon

BARBADOS’s Prime Minister Freundel Jerome Stuart was yesterday conferred with Guyana’s second highest award, the Order of Roraima (OR), by President David Granger at a simple investiture ceremony at State House.The President, who was advised by the Chairman and Members of the Advisory Council of the Orders of Guyana, said the conferral “exemplifies the essential values which exist between the two states, Guyana and Barbados.”

President Granger noted that those values underpin the existence of the entire Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “Today’s ceremony is richly symbolic for Guyana, Barbados and the Caribbean,” said the President.
The award was conferred during Guyana’s observance of its 50th Independence Anniversary, and has been described as an auspicious occasion to induct Prime Minister Stuart into a distinguished corps of officers of the said award.
“National Awards are ordained by the Constitution of Guyana; the word of national honours is statute-based,” President Granger said.
“This investiture ceremony, however, is not a legalistic or ritualistic formality,” he noted, while stating that the countries both gained their independence from Britain in 1966 and as such have much to celebrate in this their jubilee year.
“The two States pioneered the founding of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) in 1965, even before they became independent. The two States uniquely established the joint high commission in London, soon after their independence. The two States’ Prime Ministers, Forbes Burnham and Errol Barrow, were among the four founding fathers who signed the treaty establishing the Caribbean Community in Chaguaramas Trinidad,” the President reminded his audience.
Guyana and Barbados, he noted, have long-standing ties and Prime Minister Stuart has combined Barbados’s legendary leadership in regionalism with the international activism necessitated by the changing circumstances of the 21st Century.
“PM Stuart has distinguished himself as an ardent advocate for environmental security in Small Island and Lowland Developing States, many of them located in the Caribbean,” President Granger added, while noting that he has also distinguished himself as a resolute warrior in the battle for reparative justice for Caribbean citizens who are the descendants of ‘the victims of the greatest crime against humanity…human enslavement’.”
The Prime Minister was also described as “a doughty defender of the territorial integrity of Guyana and Belize and the maritime space of all Caribbean states.”

HUMBLING BUT DELIGHTFUL

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Stuart said the bestowing of such an award on him is humbling. He expressed gratitude to President Granger for conferring the country’s second highest national award on him and said, “First of all I have received it with pleasure and humility. It is an important moment for me. I have been a follower of Guyana for many, many years. I’ve been influenced quite a lot by what is happening in Guyana over the years. I was a great admirer of the late President of Guyana, Forbes Burnham and therefore to have been the recipient of this award this morning is a real humbling but delightful experience.”
JOINT COMMISSION
When asked by the Guyana Chronicle to describe the current trade relations between the two countries, the Barbados Prime Minister said concerted efforts are being made by Guyana and Barbados to improve and strengthen the Guyana- Barbados Joint Commission.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge recently visited Barbados to talk through some of the issues to make that joint commission a lot more vibrant and active than it has been. “I am aware, we are aware as I have been told by Minister Greenidge on that occasion that Guyana is interested in the tourism industry.”
The two countries, the Barbados Prime Minister said, can learn from the experiences of the other. He explained that Barbados is a giant in the region when it comes to the tourism industry and made it clear that his country is prepared to assist Guyana to develop its own tourism industry.
“We think that it is important that opportunities for deeper collaboration be fully exploited between the two countries. So trade wise and otherwise, we are deepening the relationship… this relationship is going to get stronger and stronger,” he said.
“We have got a lot to teach Guyana and Guyana has a lot to learn from us in that regard. We stand ready to deal with that… in fact that whole process has started.”

Guyana, Prime Minister Stuart said, has the advantage of size and as such, Barbados businessmen have been focusing their attention on opportunities here. “We have one businessman who has a large investment here,” he noted.
The Barbados Prime Minister paid a courtesy call on President Granger on Wednesday and he said following that meeting, President Granger can “expect a Barbadian invasion in the not-too-distant future.”
“Trade-wise and otherwise, we are strengthening the relationship,” he assured.
Prime Minister Stuart is the holder of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, a Bachelor of Law degree with honours, a Master of Laws degree in Public International Law and is the holder of a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School.
He became a Member of Parliament in 2008 and served as Attorney General, Minister of Home Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister until his appointment as Prime Minister in 2010.
Also present at the investiture ceremony were Prime Minister Moses Nagmootoo; Cabinet members; Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland; Advisor on the Council of Ministers of Suriname, Ambassador Harvey Narendorff; and the diplomatic corps.

Prime Minister Stuart received the OR for his “unflinching support for the rights of Small Island and Low Coastal Developing States, his advocacy for the Caribbean Community’s demand for reparations for the citizens of the Caribbean and his contribution to the reduction of the impact of Climate Change in the region.”