PPP now rebuilding Guyana’s international image – Foreign Minister

A fired-up Hugh Todd put the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government on blast for the damage it did to Guyana’s international image in its attempts to rig elections, assuring that as Foreign Affairs Minister, he would work to rebuild Guyana’s image abroad.

Minister Todd was at the time delivering his speech during the 2020 Budget debates at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) on Tuesday. He noted that Guyana’s foreign partners who once shunned the country because of APNU/AFC’s antics are now re-engaging with the legitimate President Dr Irfaan Ali-led Government.
“What they’ve done in their last two years in Government was to dismantle our political, economic and social structures, bringing mayhem to bear on this country. What we will do is rebuild Guyana’s bilateral, hemispheric and international engagements. Mr. Speaker, it has been broken. Most of our international partners and friends have removed themselves from the former Government because of the political crisis,” Todd said.
Many, he said, felt they were illegitimate, “and as such, most of the diplomatic engagements and international cooperation was put on hold. But I’m proud to tell you the lines are long, because the international community is queuing up to re-engage with Guyana because they see Guyana as a viable partner in the development of the region and the hemisphere.”
Todd noted that even prior to 2019, when the former APNU/AFC Government was not yet deemed illegitimate, its government was weak and ineffective on foreign policy issues. He gave as an example the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS), a much-maligned strategy that was intensely criticised for having brought little to no tangible benefit to the people of Guyana.
Todd pointed out that when the PPP first left office in 2015, it left an abundant legacy in the foreign affairs arena, including the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), a globally renowned document that was able to secure the financial backing of the Kingdom of Norway, and the National Development Strategy (NDS).

Priorities
Now that the PPP are back in office, Todd noted, some priority areas for his Ministry include defending Guyana’s territorial sovereignty and integrity. He noted that under the former Government, Guyana’s relationship with the region was strained and undermined. According to Todd, the PPP would also be focusing on strengthening Guyana’s multilateral diplomacy.
“All they did was (make) trips around the world for fun,” Todd said of APNU/AFC’s foreign policy while in Government. “Photo ops and private jets. Coming back to Guyana with nothing to say but attendance. Attendance does not help the people of Guyana. You have to come back with workable solutions that will help to improve our national policies and development,” he said.
In addition, Todd said Guyana will be playing an active role in the Group-77 and China, the Chairmanship for which Guyana assumed in January of this year. He lamented that Government have limited time to make an impact on the G-77, since their chairmanship ends this year end and half of the time was taken up with political squabbles.
“We have a menu of measures which we will be presenting to the National Assembly to ensure that we are able to leave our presence in the international arena. We’ll be focusing on biodiversity and climate change, as well as relief measures following the COVID pandemic,” Todd further explained.

Visit
President Ali was only sworn into office on August 2, and already the Government will be hosting one of the most high-profile visits in Guyana’s history, that of United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is scheduled to arrive in Georgetown today.
Under the former President David Granger-led APNU/AFC Government, Guyana’s relations with the international community and the US had deteriorated to the point where Pompeo himself had in July 2020 announced the slapping of visa restrictions on members of the then Government and other public officials, who were deemed to be undermining democracy.
Another testament to the depths to which Guyana had sunk on the international stage was the fact that in July Guyana was brought before the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council. This was a first for Guyana, since the council is one which usually hears punitive resolutions against rogue member states.
The OAS was expected to meet again on the political situation in Guyana if it was not resolved when the Court of Appeal ruled in Jones v GECOM et al, one of the many cases filed by APNU/AFC supporters to delay Granger’s exit from power.
This meeting could have possibly led to a resolution that could have had unpleasant consequences for Guyana, including suspension from the OAS. However, the court ruled in a manner that paved the way for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to finally bring the five-month ordeal to a close. (G3)