President calls for peace, security on South American continent

– at 51st MERCOSUR Summit in Brazil

In light of the ongoing border controversy between Guyana and neighbouring Venezuela, President David Granger told the 51st Summit of the Heads of State of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) and Associate States that the occasion was an opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to the principles of respect for the inviolability of treaties and other international agreements, respect for the

peaceful settlement of disputes, and rejection of the use of threats and force as a means of settling disputes.
Referencing the 1999 Political Declaration of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile as a Zone of Peace, the Guyanese Head of State said, “Peace is essential for economic development and trade to take place. Peace is a dividend for enhanced competitiveness. Peace must be promoted in MERCOSUR, its associated states and throughout the continent.”
Noting that common markets flourish in conditions of peace and security and falter when there are instability and uncertainty, President Granger said that Guyana remained committed to the principles of mutual respect for each other’s territory, mutual non-aggression between States, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, and mutual cooperation for peaceful coexistence among States.
“Guyana repeats its invocation for MERCOSUR to continue its vigilance to safeguard the sovereignty and security of its small states on this continent and to

eliminate the economic inequalities and political controversies that separate them.  This continent must be a zone of peace… Guyana, as a small state, with fewer than one million people, seeks cordial relations with all States,” he said.
President Granger also told the Summit that Guyana looked towards infrastructural

cooperation with the countries on the South American continent to establish highways, railways and bridges from the south to the north to enable the movement of goods and people.
“Guyana’s continental destiny is tied to integration of the continent. Guyana has a role to play as the gateway for South America to the markets of the Caribbean, Central America and North America,” he said.
Given Guyana’s firm global stance on environmental protection, the President used the opportunity to appeal to his South American counterparts in MERCOSUR to take more concerted actions to address global warming and climate change, which could harm production and impair trade. He noted, too, that climate change and other natural hazards were degrading the continent’s productive assets.
The President, who is currently on an official State Visit to Brazil, is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman, Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson and senior officers from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Additionally, the Head of State and his delegation on Thursday morning inked two agreements with the Federative Republic of Brazil on the sidelines of the Summit.
The first agreement is a Complementary Agreement to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil, which creates the “Guyana-Brazil Joint Commission to Develop Infrastructure Projects” .
The second Complementary Agreement is to the Basic Agreement on Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Guyana and the Federative Republic of Brazil for the Implementation of the Project – “Technologies to Reduce the Effects of the Drought in Region 9 of Guyana”.