Guyana Govt satisfied with performance of diplomatic missions abroad

The Guyana Government says it is satisfied with the performance of its diplomatic representatives overseas, but there is still room for them to deliver better performances given the scope of their responsibilities and the requirements of the overseas missions that they are serving.
Speaking during an interview last Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge admitted that he was satisfied with the quality of work being done by the country’s diplomats overseas following Government’s decision to appoint a new batch of representatives after a strict selection process which began in March 2016.
“I would say that I am satisfied, but that does not mean we don’t want to see them do much better,” he remarked.

Guyana currently has close to 20 overseas missions as compared to the 17 that traditionally existed under the former Administration. The Director General within the Ministry, Audrey Waddell had explained that back in 2016, there were 12 Embassies and High Commissions, and five Consulates.
Either an ambassador or a high commissioner heads 12 of Guyana’s 17 overseas missions, but the official title of any of the 12 heads depends on the customs of the country in which they serve.
As a result, Minister Greenidge explained that the success of the mission was based on the quality of service it delivered based upon the situation at hand and the progress being made at the level of the mission on matters of interest to the President and people here.
He said that he was particularly pleased with the service of Guyana’s High Commissioner to India, David Pollard and the other staff serving the mission there. Greenidge has recently visited that country as part of a delegation on Government business.
“The visit that we passed you some information on, in relation to India shows that in that particular mission which had almost fallen into an abyss prior to the election of 2015, you can see a very vibrant mission there, interfacing with the Private Sector in India…held in high esteem by the authorities on the Indian Government side…it’s a very pushy mission and one in which you have an ambassador who is very new to diplomacy, but good staff that have the background, but it is good,” he related.
Greenidge said that you could see evidence of economic diplomacy at work at the mission in India as he praised the gains that were being made.
Turning his attention to foreign missions in Geneva and Brussels, the Foreign Affairs Minister lauded their effectiveness following their work that saw the Swiss authorities invite Guyana to participate in a discussion with some 20 countries out of 164 other Member States of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in the lead-up to the Davos Meeting.
“We were party to a discussion about the future of the issue at hand and it is indication of the weight that the Organisation ascribes to Guyana.
I think that is an indication that work is being done and we have good reasons to be proud of the work that these missions have done,” he explained.
He also admitted a “good deal of work” was being done in New York with respect to consular services and outreaches to the Guyanese community there.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry back in 2016 announced six diplomatic appointments to the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Belgium, Cuba, and Suriname.
The announcement comes 10 months after the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government took office. David Hales is serving as Guyana’s Ambassador to Belgium. Hales was a former Director at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat.
Businessman and long-standing People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) member Frederick Hamley Case is serving as Guyana’s High Commissioner to the UK. He replaced Laleshwar Singh, who served in that capacity for over 20 years under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.
Meanwhile, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly under the PNC, Clarissa Riehl is serving as Guyana’s High Commissioner to Canada. She replaced PPP/C member Harry Narine Nawbatt. Also appointed was Bayney Karran as Guyana’s Ambassador to China. Karran has a wealth of experience in foreign policy and diplomacy and has served as Ambassador to the US; the Organisation of American States (OAS); Venezuela; Chile; Colombia; Ecuador and Mexico.
Former Political Assistant to President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Halim Majeed was appointed Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba. He replaced Attorney Mitra Devi Ali, while Esther Griffith holds the post of Consul General in Nickerie, Suriname. The Foreign Affairs Ministry had also announced that Ambassador Ivan Evelyn, former Ambassador of Guyana to Brazil would replace Griffith as the Chief of Protocol. Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela is Cheryl Miles.
Meanwhile, President Granger had said that his Government wanted to ensure “that there is balance, that there is competence and the interest of the country would be put first above party or other interests” in selecting the local diplomats.
“If we are to advance that thrust of economic diplomacy, we have to look for the best. That’s why it is taking so long,” he is quoted as saying.