President David Granger, yesterday afternoon at the Ministry of the Presidency, met eleven scholarship awardees of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who will soon travel to the People’s Republic of China to take up their five-year scholarships.
The scholarship awardees are Kevon Blount, Romain Wilson, Shaka Williams, Floyd Phillips, Jamaal Leitch, Sevon Ferreira, Shane Blair, Neon Fiedtkou, Shivanand Persaud, Seabra Manbode and Jehu West.
The 11 Second Lieutenants will be pursuing studies in the fields of Industrial, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Industrial, Electronic Information Engineering, Mechatronic Engineering, Bio-engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering and Technology.
In his address to the awardees, President Granger said that the Defence Force is being restructured and reorganised to ensure that it is well-commanded, well-trained and well-equipped to perform this role.
The President said the Force’s technical corps – the Air Corps, Engineer Corps, Intelligence Corps, and Signal Corps as well as the Coast Guard – are being improved and retooled, as part of this restructuring and reorganisation process.
Moreover, the Head of State said the Defence Force “must be ready to react effectively to traditional threats – incursions and to other forms of interventions. It must be prepared also, to strengthen its capacity to respond to new and emerging threats, such as biological and chemical warfare, cyber threats, electronic warfare, and environmental hazards.”
Meanwhile, Ambassador Cui Jianchun said with the scholarships Guyana and China’s cooperation is strengthened. He urged the recipients to cherish the opportunities provided to them and to be good Guyanese ambassadors.
