The newly-accredited U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, D Brent Hardt, does not believe that the recently leaked U.S. cables on Guyana will affect diplomatic relations between Guyana and the USA.
He made the comment moments after handing his letters of credence to President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President on Thursday, September 15.
“I’m not at all concerned about it,” the ambassador told the media shortly after meeting the president. While he declined to comment on the revelations on WikiLeaks, Hardt said the process employed by the U. S. embassies to communicate with the foreign office in Washington is not a unique one.
“What embassies generate is raw material that makes policy but is not policy. It’s just part of our job to understand what is happening in society. We hear impressions, we hear opinions, we do our best to analyse what’s going on, and we provide that to our policymakers in the U.S., [who] then make decisions in engaging with government,” the ambassador told reporters.
Describing the process as an “imperfect” one, Hardt said there remains commitments between the U.S. embassy here and the government. “We have a commitment with the government here to have an open, constructive policy/dialogue; and the president and I reinforced that we will continue to have clear, open, and very constructive, positive and sincere exchanges with the government.”
Only last week, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said it was fortunate for Guyana that the U.S. administration does not rely solely on information from the State Department, as other agencies such as the FBI and DEA play a role in informing its policies on sovereign countries.
“…those agencies that are co-located in the mission, such as the FBI, DEA, Trade and Political Affairs, they also report; and perhaps their report may be, at least thought to be, more factual and give some balance on what is coming out of the American government and their missions abroad,” Dr Luncheon explained.
He made the comment at his weekly post- Cabinet media briefing, when asked to respond to the startling revelations contained in the cables.
Dr Luncheon believes that the leaked information is laced with opinions of the diplomats.
“The records would show the level of the hearsay, the level of opinions, and the level of unsubstantiated statements that frequently formed and became a part of the report from the mission here to their headquarters,” Luncheon, who was named in several cables, said.
He stated that the disclosures made by diplomats are not what one expects of Foreign Service officers.
Hardt, who last served as chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, is replacing Ambassador John Jones, who left years ago, and was appointed years after his predecessor Roland Bullen left this country.
However, Hardt has said this delay is solely an issue of procedural glitches, and not a reflection of the quality of the relationship between the two countries.
Delighted
“Iam delighted to be here, and I look forward to working very closely with the government and people of Guyana to forge a close and productive partnership – one that helps ensure there is a stable, secure, prosperous and healthy Guyana that is a close partner of the U.S.,” the ambassador declared.
Asked what the areas of focus during his tenure would be, Hardt pointed to the already ongoing work being done on issues such as HIV/AIDS, which he believes can be a model for the region. He also has an interest in promoting prosperity, with continued focus on economic diversity. In this regard, Hardt revealed, the USAID has been actively looking at new export niche markets for local businesses.
“We certainly look forward to working closely with the government and civil society to ensure the elections going forward are fair and open; and we have every reason to believe that they will be,” he added, while noting that his office looks forward to building partnerships with Guyanese.
Meanwhile, the new ambassador said the U.S.A. views the Guyanese diaspora there as very important, and the authorities will be looking to see how those persons could play a more meaningful role there.
Hardt is a career diplomat who has served as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’ affaires at the U.S. Embassies in The Bahamas and the Holy See, among other diplomatic postings.
