– calls for developing countries’ interests to be better recognised

President Bharrat Jagdeo and Indian High Commissioner to Guyana Subit Kumar Mandal toasting at the 62nd anniversary of India’s Independence.

President Bharrat Jagdeo Saturday joined the Indian High Commission in a ceremony at the Tower Hotel in Georgetown to mark the 62nd anniversary of India’s independence.

The Head of State and the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Subit Kumar Mandal, toasted to the continued good friendship and bilateral relations which the two countries have shared for a number of years.

India has a special place in the hearts of all Guyanese, according to President Jagdeo, who also noted that a significant part of Guyana’s history is connected to the “distant land” which has brought great inspiration for many decades.

“Throughout the independent history of India, we have seen its struggle moving from a country that experienced famine routinely to a world power today. Your rich culture, music, art form, dances, and its deep history are all in some form or fashion in the Guyanese culture, and we all own it, people of all races in Guyana, because it’s part of who we are,” President Jagdeo said.

The Head of State pledged that Guyana will continue to look to India in its quest to provide a better life for Guyanese and build better relations between the two countries.

He was however more interested in speaking about the role of the developed and the developing world in fashioning a global solution to the current economic and financial crisis.

Calls were made for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial instructions to expand shareholdings to the developing world in a more equitable manner.

President Jagdeo alluded to the unfortunate situation of Asia, having over 40 percent of the total global economy, but owning only a fraction of the shares in the international financial institution.

Nevertheless, he was pleased that calls for the Group of 20 (G20) Financial Ministers forum to be expanded into a Heads of State forum have been heeded and India is an integral part of this process.

Nevertheless, he expressed hope that the interests of the 170 odd countries that have a mere 14 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and are not part of the meeting are taken into account.

“We hope that India, consistent with its tradition of support to small developing countries, would champion that cause and that our issues could be taken to this forum so that when the new financial architecture is crafted at the global level, the interest of large and small, rich and poor would all be accommodated,” President Jagdeo said.

With Guyana being the first country to propose a model that calls on the international community to recognise the need for including a compensatory mechanism for forest carbon services, President Jagdeo expressed hope that such a bold initiative would win India’s patronage.

“We all have to work towards a solution that is just, a solution that recognises the need for the developed world to support developing countries big and small, so that they can get on a sustainable pathway towards limiting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere without affecting the future prosperity of their people,” President Jagdeo said. (GINA)