THE Government of Guyana has agreed to the establishment of a National Border Institute which will enable the maintenance of records and research materials relevant to the nation’s territorial integrity.The institute’s administration will fall under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cabinet Secretary Joseph Harmon told reporters on Thursday that Cabinet at its most recent meeting agreed that the entity will be a semi-autonomous one and will operate under a Board of Directors.
Harmon told reporters that the institute’s Board of Directors will be drawn from key agencies relevant to its mandate. These include the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the National Archives, the University of Guyana (UG), Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Guyana Lands and Surveys Department.
He explained that the institute’s work will be undertaken with the solicited assistance of former ambassadors and academics with relevant experience in border matters. Questioned on whether the likes of former Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Rudy Insanally, and Foreign Service expert Dr Odeen Ishmael were mentioned, Harmon noted that those among others will be consulted.
He added that the border issues are important matters and the institute will operate as a repository of all documents, maps and charts relevant to the country’s borders with neighbouring Suriname and Venezuela, as well as the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
He said Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge, had pointed to the “deplorable state” in which national records were being kept, adding that the country has had to rely on institutional memory of persons involved in previous negotiations.
“The idea is that all these documents be placed under one institute,” Harmon noted.
According to Harmon, the proposed institute will be taken to the National Assembly for debate and possible passage.
Guyana‘s borders with Venezuela and Suriname have been topical in recent years with Venezuela making renewed claims to the Essequibo. While the Surinamese have been more cordial in relations and discussions with the Guyana government, President David Granger has expressed hope that the outgoing United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, will declare a move to the International Court of Justice within coming months to settle once and for all the border controversy with Venezuela.
Guyana’s border controversy with Venezuela dates back to over a century, with renewed and forceful claims after the American oil firm ExxonMobil announced a giant oil find offshore Guyana last May.
With the discovery of oil approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana last year, Venezuela extended its land claim and sought this country’s Atlantic front. The decree, deemed by the President as “obnoxious,” was withdrawn after CARICOM backed Guyana in the controversy.
Exxon has since announced a second oil discovery of an estimated 800 million to 1.4 billion oil-equivalent barrels in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.