I take this opportunity to express profound gratitude and appreciation to Carolyn Rodrigues – Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs, for initiating and facilitating the bilateral agreement between the government of Guyana and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for immigration officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to visit Georgetown, Guyana, during October this year, to issue Hajj visas for all Guyanese who will be performing the obligatory Islamic rituals of Hajj in Mecca during November.
This is another milestone for Rodrigues-Birkett, since she has championed many causes for the people of Guyana, especially the plight of our Amerindian brothers and sisters, during her seven-year tenure  as Minister of Amerindian Affairs.
The issuing of Hajj visas to Guyanese in the past who desired to perform the obligatory Islamic rituals in Mecca entailed the financial, physical and security burdens of either travelling to Venezuela or Brazil to attain the requisite visas.
However, this will now be a thing of the past with the precedence now set by Rodrigues-Birkett.
As our Guyanese Hajjis prepare to depart Guyana for  approximately three days travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we join in expressing sincere thanks and gratitude to the government of Guyana, especially Rodrigues-Birkett, for her brilliance and skills for initiating facilitating bilateral agreements between Guyana and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
We hope this undertaking is the beginning of a great bond and friendship between the government of Guyana and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.