SN, AFC wrong about President Jagdeo’s Middle East strategy

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

The Stabroek News, in its June 5 edition and under the caption “Have Arab uprisings sunk Jagdeo’s Middle East overtures?”, seemed bent on pushing the AFC’s position on the president’s trips to the Middle East, which suggests “that there is nothing tangible to show” for all such efforts.

Before proceeding, it should be understood that the AFC is in collusion with the imperialists, and will prostrate itself at their feet to get into the corridors of power in this country. The same vermin that the AFC is courting has a well orchestrated policy of rape, murder, plunder and pillage in the Middle East.

The SN piece used the current uprisings in the Arab World, particularly in Libya, to suggest that agreements made between now-deposed heads of state and Guyana are worthless, given that new leaders will shift focus. They did so ignoring the benefits derived, which cannot be taken back. Those opposition foreign affairs experts that SN spoke to ignored the fact that Libya wrote off an almost US$100 million debt incurred by the former PNC government as a result of Jagdeo’s visit to the Middle East. Additionally, Guyana has consolidated its diplomatic standing by having an ambassador in the region to address Guyana’s interests. Jamaica is expected to follow shortly, with its mission in Kuwait, thereby opening the door for FDIs in the region.

The foreign affairs experts SN spoke to also forgot that the Middle East is home to some of the countries with the world’s largest Sovereign Wealth Funds. In the list of countries with the largest Sovereign Wealth Funds, the UAE is second, Saudi Arabia fourth, Kuwait seventh, and Qatar ninth. In the aftermath of the Global financial crisis, other countries have begun looking to the Middle East, since that region came out unscathed from that calamity. Even UNASUR has sought to reach out to the Middle East. And this was highlighted at the Arab/South American Summit earlier this year.

It’s a pity that the vision of the AFC and the SN is being curtailed by a few Yankee dollars. However, they are stupid to believe that the imperialists have no interest in the Middle East. The imperialists, like the government of Guyana, know the value of that region. The difference is that the government of Guyana will pursue a policy of mutual benefit, while imperialists go for the kill.

Regards,

Dave Martindale

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