–– Council passes resolution on Guyana-Venezuela controversy

FOREIGN Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl B. Greenidge, recently attended the 109th session of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Council of Ministers, during which members of the council passed a resolution on the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy.

During the session, held on May 21 and 22 in Brussels, the 79 ACP member States were updated on the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy and they urged that all parties work in good faith to resolve peacefully, the controversy. Additionally, the council discussed the upcoming appointment of a new Secretary-General early next year, ongoing post-Cotonou negotiations, and the blacklisting of ACP States by the European Union (EU).

Further, they reviewed the Georgetown Agreement. The council also noted that significant progress had been made in the ongoing negotiations for a successor to the Cotonou Agreement. The Georgetown Agreement, signed in 1975 in Guyana’s capital, gave birth to the ACP Group. It is currently being revised to better equip the group to engage with other countries and bodies in the international arena. The ACP ministers are meeting today and tomorrow with their European counterparts for the 44th session of the ACP-European Union (EU) Council of Ministers during which Mr. Greenidge is expected to make a statement on Guyana’s ‘green’ agenda.