Guyana, US ink pact to deepen security cooperation

…“United States is our trusted partner” – President Ali

Security cooperation between Guyana and the United States will be further strengthened with the signing of a new agreement that also focuses on countering narcotics trafficking and transnational organised crime in the region.
This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday at State House in Georgetown.

As part of a three-nation Caribbean tour that lasted for two days, Secretary Rubio travelled to Guyana on Thursday for brief engagements with the Guyana Government. During his visit, the US Secretary of State held a one-on-one meeting with President Dr Irfaan Ali at State House.
Following this, the Guyanese Head of State led bilateral discussions between Government officials and the visiting high-level US delegation, which included US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot. Those talks focused on consolidating the agendas of both countries in several areas, including regional security, trade, energy, investments, and human capital development.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, and several Cabinet Ministers were also at the meeting, which was followed by the MoU signing.

Strengthen
Under this newly-inked security cooperation mechanism, Guyana and the United States will strengthen information sharing, synthetic drug detection, transnational organised crime investigations and prosecutions, and military-to-military cooperation.
In brief remarks at a joint press conference after the signing, President Ali affirmed that the United States stands as Guyana’s trusted partner – a relationship he said that is rooted in shared values, mutual trust, and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law and the principles of international order.
“The United States is our trusted partner as we continue to build a stable, secure and democratic society here. This visit has allowed us to consolidate our bilateral agenda; defining policies and outlining clear intentions in areas of security, trade, energy, investments, infrastructure, democracy, regional peace and stability, human capital deployment and development,” he stated.
President Ali further underscored that the joint commitment between the two countries to enhance collaboration in combatting transnational crime also includes tackling narco- and human trafficking, money laundering, and all forms of smuggling.

Address existing gaps
Guyana, the President noted, has also “reassured our partner that we will continue to ensure all international and local labour laws are adhered to in the hiring of regional and international labour. Furthermore, with our expanding healthcare system and critical shortage of human capital, we will explore areas of collaboration to address existing gaps.”
Additionally, through bilateral discussions with President Ali and Rubio, key regional infrastructure projects for development have been identified as potential areas for investment. Guyana and the United States have also committed to working closely on the deployment of Guyana’s energy potential to ensure greater integration, value creation, and regional energy security.
Food security and enhanced trade through joint initiatives to remove obstacles and expand existing areas of interest were also discussed.
“I am confident that the outcome of this visit has further aligned our policy agendas, shared commitment, and collaboration, which will bring enormous benefits to our two countries and the region,” the Guyanese Leader posited.
Remarking on the MoU signing, Secretary Rubio noted that the basic element of progress, transformation and prosperity is always security. Hence, he added, the US is committed to working with regional leaders to tackle issues such as transnational crime, specifically organised gangs and narcotraffickers that destabilise societies.
“We want to make sure that never reaches here. And that’s why today’s MOU and the work we’ll do together is designed not to stop it, but to prevent it from ever taking root, from ever finding its way here. Because unfortunately, sometimes crime is attracted by prosperity and targets prosperity,” the US Secretary of State noted.