–visiting Minister of International Development calls for ‘peaceful, diplomatic’ resolution to existing border controversy with Venezuela

CANADA’S Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, has called for a “peaceful, diplomatic” resolution to the ongoing Guyana-Venezuela border controversy.

Hussen, who is visiting Guyana for the first time, made those remarks during a ceremony for the signing of a sovereign loan agreement between the two countries at the official residence of the High Commission of Guyana, on Sunday.

“The Canadian Government is concerned with the ongoing tensions between Guyana and Venezuela, we stand with the Guyanese people, we stand with the government and we call for the respect of international law,” Hussen said.

In December 2023, during a period of high tensions, the Canadian Government had issued a statement signaling its support for Guyana after a consultative referendum on the country’s Essequibo region took place in Venezuela.

“Please rest assured that Canada supports Guyana’s territorial integrity and in any dispute we hope for a peaceful diplomatic settlement in this matter,” Hussen added.

Just last week, Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, during an interview with six-time Emmy Award-winning Television Producer, Arick Wierson, for Newsweek Magazine, in the United States of America (USA), maintained that the government’s primary concern remains the safety and security of its citizens and its economic zone.

Dr Ali had said that the country continues to foster relationships with its regional and international partners.

“[We] are pursuing a path in which we have asked Venezuela to be [a] partner and upholder of international law and to respect the ICJ [International Court of Justice] and the outcome of the ICJ,” he said, when asked about recent satellite images showing the expansion of Venezuelan troops near the country’s border.

“Our primary concern is the safety and security of our citizens, our investment and everything that is our territorial space; our sovereign space and our exclusive economic zone and that is why we believe we are pursuing a path of diplomacy,” he added.

Guyana, Dr Ali said, has been working with both its regional and international partners to maintain a peaceful region. These include the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Kingdom, France, Brazil, and the United States of America (USA).

Through these partnerships, Guyana has been working to build a robust mechanism of co-operation and integrated approach and joint commitment to ensuring the region remains peaceful.
Last month, Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd, led a delegation to Brazil where a meeting was held with Venezuelan officials.

President Ali had said that the continued conversations between the two nations will set the stage for another scheduled meeting with himself and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in keeping with the Argyle Declaration, an 11-point agreement that outlines a pledge from both countries to refrain from escalating the decades-old border controversy among the two states.
In December, the two Heads of States met in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. The meeting was facilitated by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, and observed by Brazil, CARICOM, and a UN Under-Secretary-General.

This historic meeting culminated in what is now known as the “Argyle Declaration,” an 11-point agreement that addresses matters consequential to the border controversy, including the fact that Guyana stands firm in its position that the substantial case is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

According to a recent press release from Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country remains fully committed to the principles of the Argyle Declaration, in particular the maintenance of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.