President Bharrat Jagdeo Wednesday shared Guyana’s policy perspectives on a number of issues to a visiting delegation from the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad. The group, all holders of PhDs. and Master’s Degrees in Science (MSC) from the Institute of International Relations, are in Guyana on a mission of academic exposure to various facets of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and international affairs.
The delegation was accompanied by Dr. Mark Kirton who is at present serving at the St Augustine Institute of International Relations.
He told the Government Information Agency (GINA) that the Guyanese Head of State enlightened the students on Guyana’s vision, hopes and aspirations for its own development.
“We had some discussions on the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), issues relating to UNASUR and its development, and on the Caribbean Community, and we thought it really enriches the academic experience of our students,” Professor Kirton said.
The team benefited from a number of engagements with stakeholders in Guyana’s mining sector, including the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA), private sector visits and briefings, and a tour of quarrying operations in the Essequibo River.
The delegation is also expected to engage the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).
Asked about the prospects of students of the University of Guyana benefiting from similar ventures in Trinidad, Dr. Kirton said the Institute of International Relations in St. Augustine is always open to such initiatives.          
“We are seeking collaboration with the University of Guyana. The Institute for International Relations is always open to that kind of activity and we want to share some of it… as a matter of fact, we are teaching for the first time in Guyana a group of Guyanese for a MSC programme that’s going to be awarded by the University of the West Indies,” Kirton said.
(GINA)