The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, QC and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson were updated on the status of the Guyana/Venezuela border case which is presently before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Head of State David Granger during bilateral discussions.
The President along with his delegation comprising Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge; Director General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ambassador Audrey Waddell; and Guyana’s High Commissioner to the UK, Frederick Hamley Case met with the officials on the sidelines of the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) being hosted in London, United Kingdom.
Providing an update following the meetings, which were held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Minister Greenidge said Guyana expressed gratitude to the Commonwealth for articulating their position in support of the country as it relates to the border controversy on the international scene.
“What is unfolding now, what the ICJ is likely to go in terms of the future steps,” he added.
The work of the Commonwealth and new areas of focus, particularly the development of toolkits to assist in the implementation of key policies in member states, which is an initiative of Secretary General Scotland also constituted the talks, Minister Greenidge revealed. Guyana’s Iwokrama Rainforest and environment protection initiatives were also explored.
The bilateral engagement was described as fruitful as the President and Foreign Secretary Johnson committed to strengthening the cooperation between Guyana and the UK on all fronts.
The Head of State discussed issues of common interest with the British Foreign Secretary and according to Minister Greenidge, “issues ranging from BREXIT to the challenges the UK faces to environmental issues and so forth, cooperation that is ongoing in terms of the security initiative and other areas,” were addressed.
The Foreign Affairs Minister noted that these meetings precede previous engagements, including one held by UK Prime Minister Theresa May with Caribbean countries in relation to bilateral cooperation.
Leaders at this year’s CHOGM are expected to consider a Commonwealth Blue Charter on ocean governance, a Commonwealth connectivity agenda for trade and investment, a declaration on cybercrime and Revised Commonwealth guidelines on election observation in member countries.
