THE A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government will be prioritising regional integration,   President David Granger told Trinidad-based media entity, WIN TV, on Saturday during an interview.Asked about future cooperation between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, the president said that as someone who studied in that country, he was very grateful and respectful of the hospitality shown to him.
His first meeting on taking office was to engage with CARICOM Secretary-General Dr. Irwin LaRocque, and President Granger said he gave his assurance that the Caribbean Community will be at the forefront of his administration’s foreign policy. He added that all are aware of the close bond among Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana, as they were the first four independent States in the region.
“I will be going to the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting next July, and I look forward to meeting with the Heads of all 14 countries, so that we can advance the Caribbean Community,” President Granger said, adding that doing so is a top priority of his, as all of them can learn a lot from each other in terms of improving their economies.
“I must admit,” he said, “that things have not been going quickly enough, in my view, and I hope that one of the things we will be able to achieve is the quickening of the pace of the Caribbean Integration Movement. Trinidad is pivotal to what happens in the Caribbean.”
President Granger, who will be accompanied to the July meet by Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Carl Greenidge, said he fully intends to translate talk into action, hence his reason for choosing an economist to head that key post, as they will be primarily “talking economics”.
Asked further about efforts to have as many Diasporans as possible return home, the president said that given the fact that many overseas-based Guyanese came home to vote, the APNU+AFC Administration has already commenced attracting members of the Diaspora to return on their own.
In terms of cooperation on the national level with the former government, he explained that with the Political Opposition gaining 32 Parliamentary seats, a large portion of Guyanese supported them. It is with this in mind, he said, that the PPP/C has been written to, with the aim of forming “a Government of National Unity”. This, President Granger said, was part of “the strategy of forming a government of national unity.” (GINA)