President Dr Irfaan Ali has assured the global community, including investors, that his country is working along with Venezuela, through regional leaders including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), to ensure the region remains a zone of peace and that the border controversy does not escalate.
He gave the assurance whilst being interviewed by Bloomberg.
President Ali explained that the government takes any threat to its sovereignty seriously and is building up its defence capabilities. However, he explained that the “primary focus” of his government is to ensure Guyana and Venezuela can work together to ensure the region remains “stable and peaceful”.
This, he noted, is being done with support from regional leaders.
“We are working with Venezuela now and through CARICOM to ensure that this does not escalate,” the Guyanese Head of State remarked.
In December 2023, President Ali and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro signed onto the Argyle Declaration in which they agreed not to use force or threaten the use of force in the border controversy.
Since that development in St Vincent and the Grenadines, the foreign ministers of both nations met in Brazil to continue talks on both countries working together in areas of common interest.
Another meeting between the two presidents is likely.
In the meantime, President Ali has made it clear that Guyana is committed to pursuing a peaceful settlement of the controversy, through the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
He explained that the facts of the matter are clear and that majority of the international community stands in solidarity with Guyana.
“We’re sure of our borders and in 1899, our borders were settled, Venezuelan participated in the settlement of those borders…there is absolutely no doubt as to where our borders are…a controversy was raised by Venezuela decades upon decades after, when we were going to independence and that controversy is before the ICJ,” he explained.
“We are a country that respects the rule of law, we are a country that abides by international law and that is why we respectfully ask Venezuela to participate and be a responsible member of the international community and to respect the outcome of the ICJ.”
In this regard, he emphasised that, “investors need not to worry because their investments are clearly in the territorial space of Guyana.”
