Guyanese continue to be ‘unfairly treated’ by authorities in TT – Rodrigues-Birkett

Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has flayed Trinidad and Tobago as one of the Caribbean countries that continues to hassle Guyanese travelling there. During a television interview on Monday, Rodrigues-Birkett said Guyanese continue to be unfairly targeted by authorities in Trinidad.

She was speaking on “The Factor”, with host Neaz Subhan, according to the Government Information Agency. Her comments were made when she addressed the negative perceptions faced by Guyanese travelling overseas and singled out TT as an example.
“Despite various agreements, the Caricom sister state continues to target Guyanese unfairly with visitors having to undergo repeated security checks even when in transit to other countries when the same measure is not applied to other nationalities. These are some of the issues which her ministry continues to tackle and these are being actively engaged with her ministerial counterparts”, GINA quoted the minister as saying.
“It should be noted that many of the countries in which Guyanese are hassled, are in fact benefiting from key services provided by this country. Many are quick to point out those Guyanese who fall foul of the law but conveniently forget to mention when they also perform creditably”, she added, according to GINA. She said that the task of changing the perception of Guyanese is a job for all, not just government.
Meanwhile, Rodrigues-Birkett said that Guyana, as the only English-speaking country in South America, must be promoted in the best possible light, for it has been able to demonstrate leadership on several issues, internationally, despite challenges.
Rodrigues-Birkett noted that the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), macroeconomic policies, and continued economic growth despite a global recession means that other nations and international agencies have noted Guyana as a good example at various forums.
However, she said more work has to be done to improve the international view of Guyana, even as she lauded former President Bharrat Jagdeo for putting the country on the world map.
She added that President Donald Ramotar is poised to add to this impressive showing, with his appointment to the Group of Member States Champions for the “Education First” initiative and Guyana’s acceptance of membership in the Global Green Growth Institute. The former will be officially launched on September 26.
Only recently, a delegation led by British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre which included Ian Bolton, the climate change and energy desk officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and Matt Nottingham, political officer at the British High Commission in Port of Spain, met with officials of the Climate Change Unit to gain a better understanding of how the UK and Guyana can work more closely and establish areas for greater cooperation on climate change.
Guyana’s LCDS is internationally recognised as a workable model for forested developing countries to achieve national development through sustainable exploitation of natural resources.
The country had led the way with the historic Norway agreement from which Guyana has begun receiving payments for avoided deforestation and other climate change related forest services.
The partnership represents the world’s second largest interim Reduced Emissions from forest Degradation and Deforestation (REDD)+ scheme and the first national-scale effort, with Guyana being one of few countries in the world that are being paid for the climate services their forests provide.
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett, in comparing the work of the Foreign Ministry to that of years past, said foreign policy will always be an issue, but the point is moot, since the times are different and the world has changed dramatically as issues evolve.
Some of these issues such as food security, financial instability and energy crises are being dealt with through Guyana’s membership in various organisations such as Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) regional international outlook recently identified Guyana among the resource exporting countries of the Caribbean, and by extension, the most outstanding economic performer of recent years.
The fund has also praised Guyana for its resilience and growth over the past few years, which the Guyana government attributes to good macroeconomic fundamentals and prudent management. In reports from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Guyana was again acclaimed as one of the principal drivers of growth in the Caribbean.