PRESIDENT David Granger departed Guyana yesterday for Ecuador where he will be attending the Fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) being held today. Just prior to his departure, the President spoke of the importance of the Summit not only to Guyana but to the region and small states.
“This is a unique organisation because it combines the small states of the Caribbean and larger states of Central and South America from Mexico, right down to Argentina. The two groups of states are almost evenly balanced. I would say that it is an opportunity for the small states to have a voice in the international community and yes I would say that there needs to be a special regime to pay attention to the concerns of small states,” President Granger said.
Granger said too that the vulnerabilities of small states that are part of CELAC face can also affect larger states, a point he made during his address at the United Nations General Assembly in September last year.
“The concerns of Guyana are well known and we intend to put those concerns on the table and seek assurances from the larger and medium size states that our security would be protected in this hemisphere. Small states are very important because; without the protective shield that we speak about, without fair trading practices, without greater equity, the small states would be vulnerable and once the small states are vulnerable, everybody is vulnerable. It is in the collective interest to pay attention to the concerns of the small states,” the President said.
He believes that the ongoing border controversy with Venezuela will be discussed at the Heads of States meeting. “It is not a confrontational meeting. It is a meeting in which we build consensus and yes I expect the matter to arise and we have a position. As you know, we have engaged the United Nations General Assembly; the Secretary General himself is fully appraised of our position and we are working towards a juridical settlement as quickly as possible. Venezuela is aware of that and that is what we will adhere to,” Granger noted.
Additionally, President Granger said he looks forward to a speedy resolution to the accreditation of Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Cheryl Miles so that she can carry out her duties in that country in the interest of not having a breakdown in communication between the two countries.
The Meeting the President noted will prove quite valuable as it provides an opportunity for states that form part of that bloc to build a mutually beneficial agenda that will advance the region.
“We cannot expect any short term economic gains. The value that I see coming out of this meeting is building consensus and getting the continent, particularly, South America and the Caribbean and the entire hemisphere to move forward much more quickly. Other groupings in Asia and Europe and North America have agendas and move forward very quickly but we need, in the Caribbean and South America, to get our agenda together and to start moving quickly because we have a lot of poor people, we have a lot of challenges and the quicker we build a consensus, and to the extent that is possible, unify the interest of the Caribbean and South America, the quicker our people will have a better life,” he said.
CELAC, which was created on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, is being held under the theme “Reduction of inequalities and Sustainable Development of the region”.
The countries forming the CELAC are: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
President Granger is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Director General Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Audrey Waddle.