Guyana is aiming to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Chile, especially in the mining and petroleum sectors, disaster management and environmental protection. This is according to President David Granger.
Last evening, the President and First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, attended the 209th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Chile at the Marriott Hotel, Georgetown.
President Granger, in his address, said Guyana and Chile have enjoyed excellent relations since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties on 22nd July 1971. “Relations between our two states have fostered cooperation in the fields of diplomacy, language-training, geochemical and geological mapping, immigration, port security, and transportation,” the President said.
The President, who paid a State Visit to Chile in October 2016, said “The Statement of Intent on Cooperation in Energy and Mining and the Memorandum of Understanding between the “Andres Bello” Diplomatic Academy of Chile and the Foreign Service Institute of Guyana which was signed in Montego Bay on 6th July 2018 manifest our common commitment to deepening and widening cooperation for our mutual benefit.”
President Granger said further, that Guyana and Chile share common concerns about what occurs in South America while noting that “the raging wildfires in the Amazon and the devastating effects of hurricanes in the Caribbean highlight the urgent need for intensified continental cooperation on environmental catastrophe.”
The President noted too that relations between Guyana and Chile have been strengthened by high-level exchanges between respective Presidents, including at the 19th Summit of the Rio Group Summit, which was held in Georgetown on March 2007; the 23rd Inter-sessional meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, which was held in Paramaribo, Suriname in March 2012; the First Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) which was held in Santiago, Chile in January 2013; his State Visit to Chile in October 2016; and the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on July 2018.
President Granger also congratulated the Government of Chile on its hosting of the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties [COP] 25 to the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Santiago on December 2019.
The President said Guyana has accepted the invitation to participate at that Conference, the objectives of which are in accord with Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040.
Meanwhile, Chilean Ambassador Patricio Becker said Guyana and Chile’s relations over the years have been strengthened through enhanced cooperation between the two countries.
“Mr. President, we are confident that Guyana has a great future with the development of the oil and gas industry; exploration and exportation of growing mining industry as well as the development of the timber industry… my country wishes to contribute to that future in different fields,” Ambassador Becker said.
The event was also attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings; Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr. Basil Williams, SC; and Ministers of Communities and Public Service, Mr. Ronald Bulkan and Mrs, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley.
