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President Granger meets with delegation from US Congress


areas for increased cooperation to be explored

Georgetown, Guyana –(August 23, 2018)

President David Granger, this morning, met with a visiting delegation comprising Congressmen and other officials from the United States of America at the Ministry of the Presidency, where a number of issues were discussed and areas of cooperation were explored.

The team, which was headed by Republican Bob Goodlatte, included Republicans Steve Cohen, John Rutherford, Scott Peters, Mark Sanford, Richard Hutson and Tod Rokita and other officials.

In an invited comment, the Head of State described the meeting as a ‘fact-finding’ mission as he noted that it is an important engagement between the Government of Guyana and the United States Congress.

“We are part of the hemisphere. We have cordial relations with the United States. I see the meeting as largely fact-finding. They want to familiarise themselves with the situation in the hemisphere as a whole and of course, today the focus was on Guyana. So, my brief to them was largely in four areas dealing with points that I think they would have been interested in and I think in that regard it was successful,” the President said.

The four areas, he said, covered a geographic overview of Guyana, its hemispheric affiliations and shared borders; a strategic outline, which outlined the Guyana/ Venezuela Border controversy, territorial controversy with Suriname, Guyana’s international relations and the migration of Venezuelans into Guyana; an economic overview, which dealt with the traditional sectors, the emerging oil and gas sector and Guyana’s pursuit of a ‘green’ agenda and environmental conservation.

“I dealt with the geographic scenario and the fact that Guyana is a continental state. It is a part of the South-American continent but with Caribbean characteristics. It’s the only English-speaking State and as a result of that we have lots of advantages, but at the same time, you know, we are not only perceived as the gateway to South America for the Caribbean but we’re the gateway to the Caribbean for South America. Our geographic situation has, of course, implications for border security because of the territorial claim by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and also claims by Suriname. So, they were interested in that and I gave them the assurance that we are on our way to the peaceful resolution of the territorial controversy with Venezuela,” the Head of State noted.

The final area covered Guyana’s political and governance systems.

“The [other] area I dealt with was political. I gave them the assurance, truthfully, that Guyana is a very stable country, law-abiding country, and our National Assembly functions, our judiciary functions independently and also the executive branch. So, those three branches are separate and the executive does not interfere in the judiciary or the autonomous commissions, like the Guyana Elections Commission, the Judicial Service Commission and so on. So, I think from the point of view of governance, we were able to explain that Guyana is a stable, well-governed state,” he said.

The Head of State said that Guyana’s ‘green’ agenda was also discussed and the team was impressed with Guyana’s commitment to protecting the environment.

“They were quite impressed with our environment [and] our commitment to the environment. We believe that climate change can have harmful effect and we’re taking measures to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.  We can see that our coastal zones are being damaged partly as a result of global warming and we are committed to protecting our rivers, protecting our air quality, protecting our forests. So, we’re able to explain and convince them of our commitment to protecting the environment even as we go more deeply into the extractive industries,” he noted.

President Granger noted that the two sides also discussed areas of cooperation, which can be built and enhanced where needed, in areas such as security, energy and disaster response and preparedness.

“The territorial controversy has been our biggest concern but most recently, and because of our long borders we have a 1,300 feet kilometres with Brazil, 800 kilometres nearly with Venezuela and also with Suriname, but we don’t have the assets to protect our borders and there has been some trafficking across the borders; trafficking in guns, trafficking in persons, trafficking in narcotics and trafficking in other contraband goods. These are areas where there could be deeper and more intense corporation between the United States and Guyana. Also, we are aware of the repeated danger of hurricanes and other disasters in the Caribbean and the United States has assisted us, particularly the Civil Defence Commission, in preparing for disasters and management of disasters. Again, this is one area that we want to continue our collaboration with the United States because we don’t have the airlift or the technical capabilities to respond to these disasters,” President Granger said.

He noted too that the Congressmen particularly have expressed interests in the energy sector and the possibility of access to cheap electricity for Guyanese and other stakeholders.

“We explained that we’re not wedded to one concept. Some areas may have solar, some areas may have hydro, some areas may have wind, some areas may have natural gas so we’re looking at a mix of energy sources and we’re confident that we’ll bring the tariff rate down to below US$0.15 cents per kilowatt hour. Maybe we’ll keep moving downwards and have cheap energy and this will be important to manufacturers. So some of the questions were concerned with the possibility of cheap energy,” the President explained.

Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge and Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon were also present in the meeting.

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US Congressional Delegation Engages Minister Raphael Trotman and Team On Matters of Mutual Interest

 

Minister Trotman and representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources

US Congressmen greeted by the Youth in Natural Resources Apprentices [MNR)

Yesterday, August 22, 2018, the Minister of Natural Resources, Hon. Raphael Trotman, MP, and a team comprising Mr. Stanley Ming, Chairman of.GGMC, Dr. Rudy Jadoopat, National Coordinator of GYEITI, Ms. Pradeepa  Bolonauth,  Head of Planning and Development Unit of the Guyana Forestry Commission, Ms. Beverly Alert and Ms. Shondell France of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ms. Sondra Cheong, Foreign Service Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with a delegation of US Congressmen led by Representative Hon. Robert Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Distinguished Members – Hon. John Rutherford, Hon. Mark Sanford, Hon. John Curtis, Hon. Todd Rokita, Hon. Richard Hudson, Hon. Steve Cohen and Hon. Scott Peters

Members of the Congressional staff and senior members of the US armed forces were also in attendance. US Ambassador, H.E. Perry Holloway accompanied the delegation.

Discussions were held on a range of subjects that addressed Guyanese and American business interests and the Government of Guyana’s plans for the imminent production of petroleum and beyond.

In introductory remarks, Minister Trotman noted the cordial relationship shared by Guyana and the US and the interdependence of the two nations. “We are not unaware of the high geo-strategic value that our relationship with the United States offers both our countries, and this government intends to preserve it – even as we enjoy good relations with others. In our view however, that with the United States of America is most favoured and it is to be preserved,” Trotman said.

The Minister gave an overview of the work of the Ministry of Natural Resources and its related Agencies and was also able to address questions and concerns of a national security nature. Other members of the Ministry’s team responded to questions posed by the Congressmen on a number of issues on forestry, the environment, agro-processing and infrastructure.

This is the first time in more than three decades that a member of the US Congress has visited Guyana and the first time for such a large delegation.

The delegation was introduced to twenty-five (25) youths participating in the Ministry of Natural Resources’ Youth in Natural Resources Programme. The programme is currently in its third week.

 

Django
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

I tell people, don't underestimate the man.  He is a Sandhurst trained military Cadet officer.  That's worth something!

Baseman
Baseman posted:
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

I tell people, don't underestimate the man.  He is a Sandhurst trained military Cadet officer.  That's worth something!

Looks like Granger outsmarted the PPP even before the election date for 2020 is announced. Interesting times ahead. The Americans prefer a friendlier government and the PNC fits the bill for them right now.

Granger can rig if he wants and the Americans will show a blind eye and just protect their financial interests.

Smart move by Granger, the PPP is asleep at the switch. Imagine what will happen if anti American Gail becomes their presidential candidate !

Granger is smiling from ear to ear.

FM
Last edited by Former Member
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

Granger isn't playing cards.  The U.S. is playing cards.  He is just going along for the ride.  And it turned out to be a joy ride.   Why were military officials from the US there in Guyana meeting with him?

Bibi Haniffa
Last edited by Bibi Haniffa
Bibi Haniffa posted:
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

Granger isn't playing cards.  The U.S. is playing cards.  He is just going along for the ride.  And it turned out to be a joy ride.   Why were military officials from the US there in Guyana meeting with him?

To play solitaire as you said. 

Mitwah
Bibi Haniffa posted:
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

Granger isn't playing cards.  The U.S. is playing cards.  He is just going along for the ride.  And it turned out to be a joy ride.   Why were military officials from the US there in Guyana meeting with him?

Ask Jagdeo you have close ties,

Jagdeo concerned over ‘secrecy’ surrounding visit by US delegation

Django
Last edited by Django
Baseman posted:
yuji22 posted:

Very nice to see Guyana forging closer ties with the U.S. Granger is playing his cards correctly.

I tell people, don't underestimate the man.  He is a Sandhurst trained military Cadet officer.  That's worth something!

Correction,

Education

Granger attended Queen's College, before he pursued his tertiary education. He is a graduate of the University of Guyana, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees; the University of the West Indies, where he received his post-graduate Diploma in International Relations; and the University of Maryland, where he was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow.

He also attended the Urban Policy Development Workshop at the University of California, Los Angeles; the Defense Planning and Resource Management course at the National Defense University, Washington DC; and the Counter-Terrorism Educators’ Workshop at the Joint Special Operations, University, Florida, USA.

Commander

Granger was Commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and National Security Adviser to President Hoyte. He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet School, and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria. He was a member of several defence and security agencies. He held the chairmanship of the Central Intelligence Committee; co-chairmanship of the Border and National Security Committee; and was a member of the Guyana Defence Board, National Drug Law Enforcement Committee, and the Disciplined Forces Commission. David Granger has served in several public organisations.

https://www.revolvy.com/page/David-A.-Granger

Django
Gilbakka posted:

@Former Member

Who told you Gail is "anti American"? Wikileaks disclosed otherwise. Gail is not even anti-y22. Behave yourself.

Looks like I have to call Yuji a neemakharam. I see the man moving closer tot he PNC now. He is showering praises on them.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
Gilbakka posted:

@Former Member

Who told you Gail is "anti American"? Wikileaks disclosed otherwise. Gail is not even anti-y22. Behave yourself.

Looks like I have to call Yuji a neemakharam. I see the man moving closer tot he PNC now. He is showering praises on them.

Bhai, yuji is one of the fairest posters here, when Lucifer not urging him to share out racial apples. Believe it or leave it.

FM
skeldon_man posted:
Gilbakka posted:

@Former Member

Who told you Gail is "anti American"? Wikileaks disclosed otherwise. Gail is not even anti-y22. Behave yourself.

Looks like I have to call Yuji a neemakharam. I see the man moving closer tot he PNC now. He is showering praises on them.

Ow Bhai. I am henceforth moving to the centre of the political spectrum. PPP is not rowing their boat properly. PNC on the other hand, is rowing with energy,change and strategy. Granger outfoxed the AFC and PPP.

I always give jack his jacket. 

The PPP better gear up and shove Jagdeo aside since he is just protecting his own selfish interest. Time for change and direction for the PPP otherwise another 28 years in wilderness awaits them. 

FM

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