PM Phillips affirmed Guyana’s commitment to sustainable development at the New Delhi summit

Dear Editor,
Since his ascension to the position of first Vice President and Prime Minister on August 2, 2020, Brigadier Mark Phillips has gracefully accepted his responsibilities and has performed incredibly above and beyond the call of duty. As Prime Minister, his role is to support President Ali, embrace the decisions of the cabinet, promote good governance and take part in the decision-making process of formulating, shaping and enforcing policy decisions to guide the proper functioning of the state.
Prime Minister Phillips has been at the forefront with President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo in solving the people’s problems and improving their well-being. On the international scene, they have positioned Guyana as the leader of the Caribbean and as a global leader in food and energy security, sustainable development and combatting climate change.
At the three-day World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) held in New Delhi, India from February 7-9, 2024, Prime Minister Mark Phillips profoundly told the various heads of state and diplomats from around the world that Guyana is a peaceful country that respects the rule of law, international treaties, human rights and continues to strive to end or reduce worldwide poverty and combat climate change. Brigadier (ret’d) Phillips enthusiastically praised the Honorable Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President of India and the Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, The Honorable Shri Bhupender Yadav and the organisers of the 23rd Session of the WSDS. Speaking passionately at the prestigious summit, the Prime Minister genuinely and respectfully praised India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his courageous leadership in sustainable development and his immense contributions to solving the pressing issues affecting humanity.
At the summit, PM Phillips vehemently called for rational, definitive and purposeful leadership at the local, regional, hemispheric and international levels to take timely, decisive and practical steps to meet the sustainable development goals by 2030 as delineated by the United Nations. According to PM Mark Phillips, they include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger for all people living on less than US$2.50 per day, improving the health of children across the globe by ensuring access to proper nutrition and safe water, but most importantly, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.
Focusing on the theme of the World Sustainable Development Summit 2024, Brigadier Phillips genuinely appealed to the leaders present that despite their differences and challenges, they are obligated and beholden to the peoples of their respective countries and to the peoples of the world to forge lasting and meaningful partnerships that are critical to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and for them to do everything in their power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change and its devastating impact on the earth. He asserted that innovative solutions and strategies are needed to achieve these crucial objectives towards an equitable, sustainable and prosperous future for all.
The Prime Minister proudly highlighted the fact that even though the developing countries have contributed the least towards carbon emissions, they are denied access to finance and technology from the developed countries for decarbonisation.
He was adamant that Guyana is committed to reducing its carbon emissions as outlined in the legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 countries on December 12, 2015. The first Vice President affirmed that as an oil-producing country, Guyana has implemented policies such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) and Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) to transition towards clean energy to combat climate change.
In conclusion, PM Phillips passionately and strongly confirmed Guyana’s ambitious commitment to environmental sustainability and praised India’s bold, devoted, and inspiring leadership for its dedication to sustainable development and for hosting the summit. He sincerely thanks Prime Minister Modi, his government and the organisers of WSDS for inviting the government of Guyana to actively participate in the summit and to find solutions to these serious and troubling global problems. Needless to say, Brigadier Mark Anthony Phillips’ speech resonates deeply with the world leaders present and could not be timelier. He has made all Guyanese proud.

Sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose