THE 23rd Regional Meeting of Military Exchange between Guyana and Brazil was held in Boa Vista from August 13-14, 2019. The hosting of this meeting is rotated between the two countries each year.

According to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), during the meeting, critical discussions focused on issues regarding intelligence and co-operation between the two militaries, with a view to enabling a bi-lateral approach to finding and implementing various solutions pertinent to the safety and security of both countries.

Guyana’s delegation comprised Head of Delegation and Commandant of the Guyana People’s Militia, Colonel Paul Arthur; Commanding Officer Second Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Denzil Carmichael; Major Dominic Shepherd, Lieutenant Rawl Lord, Major Meer Khan (Interpreter), Captain Eon Cameron (Interpreter), and Lieutenant Winette Smart.

The Brazilian delegation was led by Commandant of the 1ª Bda Inf Sl, Gen Bda Márcio Bessa Campos, and included lieutenant colonel Fábio Linhares Marques da Cruz, Maj Marcelo da Conceição Ferreira, Major Marcos Eduardo Oliveira de Paula, and Major Roderik Yamashita (interpreter).

Diplomatic relations between Guyana and Brazil date back to 1968 when the establishment of an Embassy of the Republic of Brazil in Georgetown was announced.
Over the ensuing decades, the relationship between the two nations has strengthened significantly and resulted in the GDF benefiting from training and logistics support from the Brazilian military.
Most recently, in 2018, nine wells were drilled in the Deep-South Rupununi, through the collaboration of the GDF and their Brazilian counterparts.

Guyana and the GDF continue to recognise, respect and appreciate the support of the Government and people of Brazil.