Dear Editor,

I WAS extremely saddened to hear of the death of our former Foreign Minister, Rashleigh Jackson, with whom I had the pleasure of serving in the Cabinet.

Rashleigh Jackson was our Foreign Minister during the years 1978 – 1991. First, as one of our Senior Diplomats and, subsequently, as Foreign Minister, he played an enormously important part in the building of our Foreign Service along with, of course, Sir Shridat Ramphal, in the early days of our Independence.

Rashleigh served with distinction as Ambassador and Permanent Representative for Guyana to the United Nations before his appointment as Foreign Minister and I remember the critical role he served in our defence against Venezuela’s spurious claim against our territorial integrity.

For a tiny, newly independent, developing country and when Guyana was at the centre in our region of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the USA and under economic and even military threat from our Venezuelan neighbour, we should be forever grateful for the fact that we were represented internationally with men of the caliber of Rashleigh Jackson.

I extend my sympathy and condolences to his relatives.

Yours sincerely,
Kit Nascimento