Pres Ali, Canadian UN Representative discuss shared regional & multilateral priorities

…as Guyana meets ABCEU countries for monthly UNSC briefing

President Dr Irfaan Ali met with Canada’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Robert Rae, to discuss the North American nation’s enhanced role in the Caribbean Region.

The Canadian official, who was on a one-day official visit to Guyana, met the Guyanese Head of State on Wednesday evening at State House in Georgetown.
A post on the President’s social media page said, “Discussions focused on shared regional and multilateral priorities, including issues within the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Canada’s enhanced role in the Region.”
President Ali is the current Chairman of Caricom.
Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mark Berman; Political Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission, Caroline Mireault, and Director of Presidential Affairs, Marcia Nadir-Sharma were also part of the meeting.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Rae also met with Caricom Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett, on Wednesday at the Caricom Secretariat at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
According to the Secretariat, “The discussions were fruitful and focused on mutual interests.”
The Canadian UN Ambassador was joined by Mireault for that engagement as well. From the Secretariat, Caricom Assistant Secretary General (Foreign and Community Relations) Elizabeth Solomon; Senior Project Officer (Foreign Policy and Community Relations) Jhonson Alexandre, and Chef de Cabinet in the Office of the Secretary General, Ambassador Janice Miller were also in attendance.
As part of his one-day official visit to Guyana, Ambassador Rae also participated in a meeting hosted by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd on Wednesday.
The meeting was held with the representatives of the ABCEU countries – America, Britain, Canada and the European Union – for the monthly dialogue on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
During the engagement, Minister Todd noted Guyana’s chairmanship of the Council in February 2024, and informed the officials of Guyana’s Signature Event, which will be presided over by President Ali.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the dialogue was intended to connect Georgetown with the respective capitals on UN Security Council-related matters.
In addition to Ambassador Rae and High Commissioner Berman, other diplomats in attendance at that meeting were Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, Adrienne Galanek; British High Commissioner (ag), Greg Quinn; and the European Union Ambassador to Guyana, Rene Van Nes.
In a statement on Tuesday ahead of Ambassador Rae’s visit, the High Commission of Canada in Georgetown said the UN Representative would engage with Guyana on shared regional and multilateral priorities; and will also be discussing the Canada-Caricom collaboration on Haiti and other regional issues, as a follow-up to the recent Canada-Caricom Summit, which was hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“Canada reaffirms its commitment as a longstanding friend and partner to Guyana, and will continue to work with Guyana bilaterally and multilaterally on priority areas,” a release from the High Commission on Tuesday evening stated.
Ambassador Rae is the former Premier of Ontario, and the former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013. He stepped down as a Member of Parliament in 2013 in order to return to legal practice, to work with Indigenous communities, and to continue his work in education, governance, and human rights.
Ambassador Rae is a Privy Councillor, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of Ontario. He has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world, and has been Ambassador of Canada to the UN since 2020. (G8)