GUYANA will hold a number of bilateral engagements touching on a range of topics on the side lines of the Summit of Americas which opens in Lima, Peru, today, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge has said.

He made the disclosure while speaking to Guyanese journalists covering the meeting being held under the theme: “Democratic Governance against corruption”.
Greenidge said Guyana will meet with its counterparts as member states attend and exchange ideas, whether planned or unplanned. Greenidge said Guyana will have bilateral talks with Ecuador, Canada, Bolivia and others countries. He said Peru’s decision not to welcome Venezuela’s President Nicolas Madura to the summit will not overshadow the atmosphere of meaningful dialogue.

“I don’t think the world…wants a forum that is convened knowing fully well that the parties are not going to be comfortable speaking to each other in a civil manner; so it is perhaps for the best,” the Guyanese minister said of Maduro’s absence.

U.S. President Donald Trump will also not attend the summit. However, his Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Lima together with Senator Marco Rubio, a fierce critic of the Bolivarian government. When asked if it would have been better if President Trump had attended the meeting, Greenidge said it would have been better if there was full participation at the summit. However, he said those attending the Summit will have to make the best of the circumstances, saying that human society is of such that where there is tension and challenges there is need for constructive dialogue in all processes.

Topics to cover

Meanwhile, Greenidge said Guyana is hoping that its bilateral meetings will cover a range of issues and for the most part it will be political, “focusing on the sorts of challenges that are urgent and pressing, with the aim of deepening political cooperation.”

In giving an example, he said issues pertaining to Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) will be discussed in the exchanges along with how common problems are tackled such as migration and movement of people. He noted that it is not uncommon also for countries to ask for an update on things that are taking place in Guyana such as the oil and gas sector. “We are perhaps blessed at this point and time in that not only are there remarkable developments afoot in relation to the offshore territory, but also the onshore, since we have pretty significant developments in gold mining leading to underground mining which has implications for skills and employment,” he said.

He said Guyana is moving in a direction of underground mining at magnitudes never done in the country’s history. However, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is still to put all the necessary measures in place to monitor this kind of mining that is considered “more hazardous than open pit mining.” He said cooperation on enhancing skills, technological advancements and putting in place infrastructure, technological training, and mining technologies will be of interest to countries of the OAS grouping, since many countries may have had considerable experience in these areas. Further, Greenidge said that Guyana will be looking to enhance vibrant political relations with many countries. Regarding bilateral talks scheduled with Bolivia, he noted interesting commonalities between the two countries, such as programmes for indigenous peoples and political cooperation will be tackled.