– says Guyana will play its part in fashioning int’l system that is fair, just
By Devina Samaroo
Guyana is positioning itself to contribute significantly to global leadership and to have a strong influence on global decision-making, President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced.
The move in this direction has already been cemented by the country being elected to serve as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), gaining the support of 191 out of 192 members of the UN General Assembly.
President Ali indicated that Guyana’s influence will further grow as the country continues to put in efforts to become a global leader in food security, climate security, energy security, and human development.
World Leaders
At a recent press engagement, the Guyanese Head of State stated that among the country’s foreign policy objectives is for Guyana and all Guyanese to obtain a place of “respect and regard” in the international community. “…such that we can contribute to influencing global decision-making for good and better.”
President Ali said evidence of this achievement is already seen in the extensive list of world leaders, inclusive of heads of governments from “influential nations” that have either visited Guyana or have had direct bilateral engagements with him. He said the count is more than 70.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is among the most notable and recent visits to local shores.
“The world leaders and more leaders are coming to Guyana because they believe that we can contribute to leadership in the world, and in the pursuit of a peaceful and economically stable world. My Government intends to live up to their expectations by ensuring that Guyana plays a full part in fashioning an international system that is fair and just,” President Ali expressed.
In so doing, he said, Guyana will continue to seek alliances with other countries but, at all times, will remain “independent and principled” by standing up for values set out in the UN Charter and in international law.
UNSC
Evidence of Guyana’s global influence, the Head of State remarked, can be seen in the country’s election to serve on the UNSC.
Guyana was elected as one of five non-permanent members of the UNSC in June for the term 2024-2025. Guyana’s candidacy was uncontested, being the sole candidate for a single seat available to the Latin America and Caribbean Region, where it garnered the highest vote count, at 191 out of 192.
“[This] is clear evidence of our success in achieving broad respect for our nation and the influential role we can play in the world…this endorsement could not be more resounding,” President Ali expressed.
The UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the UN, and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.
Climate Change
In addition, Guyana continues to be a world leader when it comes to climate matters, particularly through its landmark Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).
In fact, Guyana became a global first when, last year, the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) issued the world’s first TREES credits to this country. This marked a milestone as the first time a country has been issued carbon credits specifically designed for the voluntary and compliant carbon markets for successfully preventing forest loss and degradation — a process known as jurisdictional REDD+.
“With Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 showing real results in climate finance, with carbon credit sales for the period 2016 to 2030…already earning Guyana US$750 million,” Ali added.
Guyana’s completion of the ART process paves the way for other governments that are looking to receive carbon market finance for success in protecting and restoring forests.
The Head of State further explained that this development benefits both the country’s coastal and hinterland communities. He reminded that 15 per cent of all proceeds from the sale of carbon credit go directly to Amerindian villages.
President Ali boasted, too, that Guyana has maintained forest cover at over 85 per cent, and has recorded the lowest rate of deforestation since 2010.
“We recorded for 2022, with a rate of 0.036 per cent…,” he said, noting that this proves that “even with Guyana’s accelerated development in all corners of the country, we’ve not only maintained forests, but we’ve further strengthened our progress in this area.”
He also outlined that Guyana has been maintaining its carbon sink status even amid the expanding oil and gas industry.
“Guyana’s vast forest stores over 19.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and is a net carbon sink. As our oil and gas industry expands, even with a significantly expanded production level with ten FPSOs [by 2030], Guyana remains a predominant net carbon sink and sequester/ remover of 154 million tonnes of carbon annually from the atmosphere.”
Overcome
These strides were all achieved notwithstanding the difficult position the new Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) administration was faced with upon its assumption to office in August 2020.
“We had to overcome the negative consequences of a group of people trying to steal an election and derail democracy, where the credibility of our country was damaged. That took time and effort,” President Ali reminded.
He said his Government has pursued, and will continue to pursue, an aggressive foreign policy agenda, which is already reaping results in a number of areas.
Another key objective of the Government’s foreign policy agenda is to gain economic and financial benefits for the people of Guyana through strategic engagements with members of the international community and institutions. And according to President Ali, this is clearly already being achieved, and is a continuous pursuit.
He alluded to the many economic cooperation agreements Guyana has in a variety of areas with leading nations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
“These agreements will advance tourism; commercial transactions; the export of goods and services; investment in energy, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors; the creation of new employment as well as the enhancement of education and health facilities,” he posited.
Two other important objectives, he outlined, are to strengthen the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and to develop closer ties with the countries of South America – two groupings to which Guyana belongs.
