REGIONAL and international cooperation and friendly and cordial bilateral relations with the countries in the various hemispheres have always been priority issues for President Granger. He believes and has made it known that Guyana will endeavour to build bridges for economic, social, and cultural cooperation so that all involved can benefit.
Over the years Guyana has established and maintained cordial relations with neighbouring Brazil.
This year 2018, will mark 50 years of friendship and bilateral ties between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil, which has seen cooperation in the areas of defence, health, education and public infrastructure programmes among others.
In this week’s Government in Action, we will take a look at the 50-year-old relationship, the partnerships built in the areas of health, education, public infrastructure, tourism, defence and the oil and gas sector as well as the predictions for future collaboration.
Renewing ties
In observance of this milestone, Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and a high-level delegation paid a State Visit on July 12, 2018. Following this visit, President Granger said that the friendship and cooperation between Guyana and Brazil, which has been characterised by peace, respect for territorial integrity and mutual interests are set to be further strengthened in the coming months as the two South American nations work to build more solidly on 50 years of bilateral ties. He noted that while the two countries have enjoyed cooperation in a number of areas, they must now take the opportunity to build on the solid foundation, which exists.
“The cooperation has been very wide. As I pointed out, I was one of the first two (Army) officers to be trained in Brazil 49 years ago, so we had defence cooperation since 1969. It has gone into fields of education, the fields of agriculture, infrastructure development, and you would be surprised at the amount of interaction that has taken place at the level of ordinary residents moving to and from the two countries.
Many residents from the Rupununi would go across to Brazil for medical treatment, so there are many areas of cooperation but what we are looking at now is the future. We are not looking at the past and we feel that the relations now between these two mature nations should be put on a sounder footing,” the Head of State said.
President Granger noted that the visit comes at a time not only when the two countries are celebrating this milestone but at a time when there is a changing strategic scenario in Northern South America and the world, particularly in the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. In this regard, he noted that it is important that the two states renew their relationship as well as seek to build on new ground while formulating a coordinated approach where needed.
“We have not been able to fulfil our dreams of infrastructural integration but there are several other areas of concern. One, of course, is the situation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. As you know thousands of refugees have gone south into Brazil, many more in Colombia, some have come into Guyana and into Trinidad and Tobago.
Therefore, we need to have a common push to deal with this humanitarian crisis. The situation was also changing in the hemisphere and the world. As you know, the US Government, the UK Government, the EU have all been affected by some economic changes and it will eventually have an impact on Guyana and in that way, it is necessary for two neighbouring states to coordinate their positions so that there is some convergence of views. We have always had cordial relations with Brazil at a strategic level,” he said.
GUYANA/VENEZUELA BORDER CONTROVERSY
As Guyana continues to make its case for the resolution of the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it has been assured of the support for all diplomatic measures including a judicial settlement from the world court by its southern neighbour, Brazil, which has time and time again indicated that it has no interest in changing settled and established boundaries on the continent.
Guyana continues to enjoy friendly relations with Brazil and in a tangible demonstration of this commitment, the two countries, in November 2017, undertook a project to remark the borders they share. This exercise solidified the friendship between the two countries and was a demonstration of mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The Head of State also noted that the preservation of South America as a ‘zone of peace’ is essential to Guyana’s existence. Brazil, he said, has remained resolute in its commitment to peace on the continent and Guyana is grateful for Brazil’s consistent and unwavering support, over the past 50 years, for the peaceful settlement of the territorial controversy with Venezuela.
“Brazil is the largest state on the continent of South America, and from the start of the controversy Brazil has made it clear that it had no interests in redrawing the borders with any state. Brazil has borders with almost every state on the continent except two, so once people start tinkering with borders it will be an enormous headache for Brazil.
Brazil put its foot down from the start and I think that was an important factor in convincing our neighbours that there will be no land grabbing on this continent. So, we are very grateful to Brazil and the Brazilian Ministry of External Affairs has always been known for taking a principled position and it has never varied. They have been a guarantor of Guyana’s territorial integrity,” he said.
INFRASTRUCTURE
After paying a courtesy call on President Granger, the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs held a meeting with Guyana’s Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge. At the conclusion of those meetings, it was announced that the first phase of the Linden- Lethem highway, which will connect Guyana and Brazil would commence later this year.
Minister Greenidge said technical teams from both countries would meet to examine terms of reference for consultancies to do the final design of the road. “You have to have a final design and that is the work of consultants that the two sides will decide on and they have to be given terms of reference,” he said.
Construction of Phase One-Linden to Mabura, Greenidge said, would begin during the last quarter of 2018 and would be financed by the United Kingdom to the amount of 150 million pounds sterling. Funds for Phase Two- Kurupukari to Lethem- would be provided by either the Inter-American Development Bank or China. Construction, he said, might begin in late 2019.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson said that the terms of reference for the Linden to Lethem road project will be ready by August of this month.
“One of the main purposes of the meeting is to ensure it remains a priority for both states. Therefore, by bringing such a large delegation, Brazil shows that they are as committed as we are to see this project through,” Minister Patterson said.
This infrastructural development is as a result of President Granger’s state visit to Brazil in December 2017, where he met with President Michel Temer. During that meeting, the two countries inked two Agreements in the form of the Complementary Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil, which creates the “Guyana-Brazil Joint Commission to Develop Infrastructure Projects” and the Complementary Agreement to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil for the Implementation of the Project “Technologies to Reduce the Effects of the Drought in Region 9 of Guyana.”
The construction of the long-awaited Linden-Lethem road was one of the key projects under this agreement.
In an interview at the conclusion of that meeting, President Granger said that for decades both sides envisaged a route through Guyana, which will provide better development prospects for investors to come from the Caribbean into Brazil and from Brazil into the Caribbean. “This is something that has been long discussed and in fact, in some parts of the Rupununi, roads were actually aligned but we never had funding to complete it.
The infrastructure agreement we are entering will be focused on fulfilling that obligation to building a road between Lethem and Linden. Brazil has done its part; Brazil has built a bridge under President Luiz DaSilva and the road literally comes right out to the bridge. We need to do our part so that is a very important agreement that was signed,” he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge explained that in July 2017, he and Minister of Public Infrastructure, Mr. David Patterson met with their respective counterparts to discuss moving the project forward. At that forum, it was agreed that both countries will provide financial resources for the engineering and design of the road. Minister Greenidge explained at that time that this road link is a critical piece of infrastructure that holds great potential in terms of integrating the two countries and improving trade.
In terms of the second agreement, the Brazilian Army will be working closely with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to develop its Engineering Corps. This collaboration will see the drilling of artesian wells in Indigenous communities in villages such as Para Bara, Achiwib, Karaudarnau, Aishalton, Awarewanau, Shea and Mururanau.
“As we know Rupununi is susceptible to droughts and floods so we want to remove that uncertainty and have a system under which the communities, there are over 50 villages in the Rupununi, that could be supplied with fresh water continuously during the year and Brazilian terrain across the border is similar in many respects. So there is not only going to be a supply of physical infrastructure but there’s also going to be a transfer of technology,” President Granger said.
NEW EMBASSY
During their visit to Brazil in July 2017, Minister Greenidge and Minister Patterson also turned the sod to mark the construction of a permanent building for the Guyana Embassy in Brazil. This was done in an effort to further solidify the relations between the two nations.
DEFENCE
In the field of Defence, Guyana and Brazil have always enjoyed excellent bilateral military cooperation. For almost fifty years, GDF ranks have been afforded the opportunity to train and study with the Brazilian Army and Brazilian soldier have been afforded the same opportunities here. Only recently, the Brazilian Government donated $26M in equipment for the GDF’s Robert Mitchell Jungle and Amphibious Training School at Makouria.
On February 9, 2018, Brazilian Minister of Defence, Mr. Raul Jungmann Pinto, paid a state visit to Guyana, which resulted in a commitment by both countries to review the September 2012 Joint Communiqué, which followed the official visit to Guyana by Ambassador Celso Amorim, then Minister of Defence of Brazil. The review is intended to update the agreements in that document and bring them in line with present-day realities, as well as, to deepen defence cooperation.
In 2012, during a visit to Guyana, Ambassador Celso Amorim held a working meeting with Dr. Roger Luncheon, former Secretary to the Defence Board of Guyana at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the two sides reiterated their desire to intensify bilateral defence cooperation. They reviewed the existing programme of cooperation between Guyana and Brazil in the area of defence and agreed to the implementation of a number of measures aimed at expanding and strengthening collaboration not only at the bilateral but also at the regional level within the context of existing initiatives of the Union of South American Nations.
In this regard, they agreed to adopt the decision to create a Guyana/Brazil Bilateral Defence Working Group (BDWG), in order to provide oversight and follow-up to the defence agenda between Guyana and Brazil, through annual meetings of Joint Chiefs-of-Staff level or their equivalent, and three sub-groups dedicated to issues relating to the Army, Navy and Air Force, to increase cooperation in the area of military training and education at Brazilian military institutions, through the provision of additional offers to military personnel from Guyana and to promote the coordination of military operations in their respective border areas, in order to ensure more effective results and to enhance the integration and stability of the respective communities.
It was also agreed that the two countries will intensify collaboration in the area of defence procurement through the exchange of information and expertise, promote collaboration with civil society through the development of joint projects in the border areas aimed at the delivery of services to those communities; commence cooperation in the area of geo-technology applied to defence and security, through the training of officials from Guyana at the SIVAM (Brazilian Amazon Surveillance Integrated System) facility in Manaus, Brazil and send a military mission from Brazil to prepare an assessment of technical expertise that can be provided to advise and/or, work within the Guyana Defence Force to increase expertise in deficient areas.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has benefitted significantly in a number of areas due to the friendly ties and cooperation between the two countries. Chief of Staff, Brigadier Patrick West, in an invited comment, said that the administration of the Force is pleased with the partnership between the Brazilian Government through its Military and the GDF. Numerous officers of the GDF have benefitted from training opportunities in Brazil, some spanning for a year. “We collaborate…where there are gaps, those gaps are likely to be filled with our collaborations with our bilateral partners. Brazil did some work with us and they are still doing…,” he said.
HEALTH
On January 19, 2018, President Granger received a courtesy call from Brazil’s Minister of Health, Dr. Ricardo Jose Magalh?es Barros and a delegation from that country who were currently in Guyana on an official visit to discuss areas in which the two states can strengthen cooperation, particularly in the health sector.
The visiting minister’s delegation included the Vice-Governor of Paran?, Ms. Maria Aparecida Borghetti and the Federal Deputy of São Paulo, Ms. Bruna Dias Furlan. During that meeting, the President also noted that while Guyana welcomes cooperation in the health sector, it looks forward to deepening cooperation in other areas such as oil and gas, infrastructure and environmental security.
TOURISM
In July 2016, a two-day Tourism Conference was held in Boa Vista, Brazil, for tour operators who are operating between Guyana and Brazil. The event was organised by Visit Rupununi (VR) in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Roraima and Conservation International – Guyana (CI-G). Tour agencies and officials regarded the collaborative effort as a timely and significant step in developing the tourism sectors in Guyana’s Upper Takutu- Upper Essequibo- Region Nine and the Brazilian state of Roraima.
OIL AND GAS
The Brazilian Petroleum Corporation (Petrobras) has expressed a keen interest in entering Guyana’s burgeoning oil and gas sector. During his meeting with the Brazilian President in December 2017, this interest was communicated to President Granger. The President explained that this is by no means a new offer, since they (Brazil) were engaged with Guyana in the 80s and in the early 2000s, but indicated that Guyana welcomes investments from its neighbour in that sector.
“Brazil has a well-established petroleum industry, they have experience, they have expertise and Brazil is an important strategic partner, an economic partner and we extended an invitation to them, we extended an invitation to the entire world to examine the prospects of petroleum exploration and production in Guyana and Brazil certainly is one of those and will be welcomed,” he said.
