By Zena Henry
MATTERS of trade and economic diplomacy dominated the agenda of the five-day heads of missions (HoM) conference which concluded at the Pegasus Hotel on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge said.

He also disclosed that if the territorial controversy between Guyana and Venezuela was not resolved by year-end, the matter could go to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Greenidge made those remarks during the closing press conference for the confab. The media was told that Ambassador Dag Nylander, the Personal Representative appointed by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, HE Antonio Guterres, would be in Guyana on April 12 to meet with President David Granger and the Foreign Affairs Minister to begin his mandate pertaining to the border controversy involving the two countries.

It was noted that Ambassador Nylander’s mandate was within the final year of the “Good Offices” process with a “strengthened mandate of mediation.” According to the decision outlined by the secretary-general, “‘If by the end of 2017 the secretary-general concludes that significant progress has not been made toward arriving at a full agreement for the solution of the controversy, he would choose the International Court of Justice as the next means of settlement,’ unless Guyana and Venezuela ‘jointly request that he refrain from doing so.’”

The minister said that the UN Secretary-General can go as far as choosing an option for the resolution of the controversy. The Foreign Affairs Minister reiterated Guyana’s commitment to approach the ensuing process in good faith. Minister Greenidge noted however that the HoM conference was mostly dominated by economic matters. He said discussions were had on economic diplomacy and other trade matters. These discussions also led to talks relating to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which sets the rules and regulations pertaining to international trade.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Geneva, Dr J. R. Deep Ford, is expected to carry out the bulk of the work relating to the WTO, the minister pointed out, as he has already been participating in WTO meetings. Ford was accredited Guyana’s ambassador to Geneva last October. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to United Nations Organisations in Geneva and to the Government of Switzerland, Dr Ford had held several senior positions at the United Nations for 16 years and more recently as the Director of Caribbean Operations for the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Dr Ford started his professional career as a lecturer at the University of Guyana and also earlier worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat. In the coming weeks, the Ambassador of Guyana will present credentials to the Government of Switzerland, which will provide support for the establishment and operations of the Guyana Embassy in Geneva.
Meanwhile, Greenidge said in the same vein, Brussels would also be dealing with the Georgetown Agreement, which, according to the minister, includes the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP). This Agreement with other linkages speak directly to soft loans by the European Union.

However, Greenidge said that the future of this source of revenue has been a subject of discussion within CARICOM, the ACP states and several other bodies. Guyana is integrally involved in this matter, which may have an effect on the country which is now regarded as an upper middle-income country. Guyana’s Ambassador to Brussels is David Hales.
Minister Greenidge pointed out however that the lighter sides of economic trade discussions included the enhancement, capacity-building, and cooperation in order to attract investments. Public diplomacy – fashioning and dealing with the image of the country in the context of foreign policy and the importance of that, the issues of sensitization and raising awareness and knowledge of Guyana – were also very important matters raised at the conference.

During the opening of the conference, Greenidge had spoken at length on “economic diplomacy,” which was an important part of the Government’s wider development agenda. “It [economic diplomacy] goes beyond trade and investment to the resolution of multiple causes of international conflicts. The agenda of economic diplomacy is comprehensive and includes amongst other issues pertaining to foreign trade and import-export relations, promotion of national economic interests in other countries, informing and updating potential foreign investors on investment opportunities, negotiating economic and trade agreements on economic and trade co-operation, as well as co-operating with a view to eliminating problematic divergences and harmonising standards in various sectors,” he said.

Greenidge noted that the HoM conference was successful and it was something that had to be continued. He noted that one of the key reasons for the conference was to ensure that the relevant authorities become acquainted. Greenidge explained that while the foreign mission team may be academically charged, with a wealth of experience, the majority are new to the foreign affairs ministry and under these circumstances, “it is very important to provide the opportunity for members to think and reflect on issues together, so that you actually build a team,” the minister said. Minister Greenidge said the team’s members come from different walks of life and it was important to keep that in mind.