US working with Guyana to modernise defence capabilities – top official

Guyana is actively seeking to take its defence capabilities to newer heights, and it is an area where the United States (US) has offered support in ensuring that this process leads to a well-oiled and strategic military mechanism.
Sharing outcomes of his two-day visit, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for the Western Hemisphere at the United States Department of Defense, Daniel P Erikson on Tuesday engaged media operatives at the US Embassy.
Erikson was scheduled to meet with the members of the Guyana Government, Guyana Defence Force (GDF), and Caribbean Community (Caricom) leaders to discuss the US defence and security partnerships.

As such, the DASD underscored that Guyana and the United States share a strong bilateral foundation for future cooperation on defence and security. He outlined that the active conversation is premised on how the country’s defence system should be modernised and the scope of such an undertaking.
The US Deputy Assistant Secretary said that he foresees a time in the future where Guyana will seek to expand its maritime and aerial assets beyond what exists currently.
He disclosed, “Guyana is also seeking to modernise its defence capabilities, which will overtime imply additional purchases or assets that they may seek to acquire. We’re in conversation with Guyana about the scope of what that capability should be and one thing of great interest to us is ensuring that as Guyana looks to increase its defence capacities, it does so through a plan that is strategic, nested in its overall defence institutions, and sustainable over time.”
According to the US official, productive conversations highlighted Guyana’s defence needs and steps undertaken by the Guyana Defence Force to deepen its institutionalisation.
“One thing that is very clear is the desire to increase domain awareness of the Guyana Defence Force so we are looking forward to working with them, especially deepening information sharing and we also discussed cybersecurity. Additionally, there has been a variety of security forces and specialised training teams that have visited Guyana over the past year and will continue to do so in 2024.”
In return, Guyana has been a key partner in exercises such as Tradewinds, which deals with military and disaster response across nations.
Overall, Erikson said he was impressed with the professionalism of the Guyana Defence Force which will ultimately lead to robust exchanges in 2024. It was recognised that Guyana is the new Chair of Caricom, and has taken its seat as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term 2024-2025.
Last month, the National Assembly approved over $25 billion in supplementary funds for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government to execute various programmes. Some $1.2 billion was set aside for the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), which was on high alert amid threats to Guyana’s territory of Essequibo from neighbouring Venezuela.
During that time, the United States Army’s 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) arrived here as a specialised unit of the US Army to conduct joint training exercises for the furtherance of a military alliance. They were tasked with conducting several joint training exercises with the GDF to strengthen its capacity and capability at the tactical and operational levels.
The US and Guyana enjoy a longstanding security partnership marked by strong collaboration between SOUTHCOM and the GDF that has historically been focused on disaster preparedness, humanitarian assistance, maritime security, human rights, professional development, defence and public security missions, and countering transnational crime.
It was only earlier this year that Guyana once again hosted Exercise Tradewinds, which saw over 1500 security force personnel from 20 nations participating. Since its establishment in 1984, the Tradewinds Exercise, organised by SOUTHCOM, has symbolised unity and collaboration in the face of security challenges. (G12)