MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, on Thursday, received a courtesy call from Professor Norman Girvan, the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Takuba Lodge. They were joined by the Director-General of the Ministry, Ambassador Elisabeth Harper; as well as Keith George, Director of the Frontiers Department and Elio Tamburi, Senior Political Affairs Officer, Department of Political Affairs, Secretariat of the United Nations.
Developments in Guyana’s foreign relations moved in a positive direction in April 2010 when the Office of the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki Moon, informed Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, of the appointment of Professor Girvan as his Personal Representative to support him (the Secretary General) in his role as Good Officer.
The position of Personal Representative of the UNSG was vacant since the death of Oliver Jackman  in January 2007, who served in that capacity from October 1999 to January 2007.
This appointment is critical in the search for a practical settlement of the controversy that emerged from the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of October 3, 1899 which definitively established the territorial boundary between Guyana and Venezuela, is null and void.
A series of coordinated efforts facilitated the appointment, which was stepped up in 2009 when Minister Rodrigues-Birkett paid an official visit to Caracas on July 11, 2009.
The foreign ministers of Guyana and Venezuela agreed to jointly meet with the Secretary General to present Professor Girvan as their nominee and this was subsequently done in New York, in October 2009.
Professor Girvan brings a wealth of experience to the Process. He is a renowned Caribbean economist, academic and international civil servant, who also possesses valuable experience as a former Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).   This is Professor Girvan’s first visit to Guyana since his appointment.