Vice President Dr. Bharat Jagdeo, today, assured the nation that the Government will represent Guyana’s interests at the historic visit, tomorrow, by United States Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo.
The Vice President made these statements in an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI), following questions posed by Opposition Leader, Joseph Harmon in the National Assembly concerning the President’s agenda for the visit.
Speaker of the House, Mr. Manzoor Nadir had disallowed the line of questioning.
“We will defend Guyana’s interest and what is good for our people, Guyanese. That is what is foremost in the minds of this Administration,” Dr. Jagdeo said this afternoon at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The Vice President also rejected the Opposition Leader insinuation that the change in Government had impacted the country’s stance on the border controversy with Venezuela.
“You can be assured that we will never do anything that will compromise Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – never. We don’t trifle with our borders. That is not a political issue. We don’t compromise national interest on the border,” Dr. Jagdeo stated.
The Vice President also noted that the PPP/C, while in Opposition, had always formed a united front with the Granger-led Administration on Guyana’s border controversy, despite the unfavourable political climate.
He also recalled that it was the former administration’s Natural Resources Minister who had said that a liberal oil deal was cemented with the US oil giant ExxonMobil in order to protect Guyana’s sovereignty.
Dr. Jagdeo further upbraided the Opposition for its antagonism towards the USA as that country supports Guyana’s position on the border controversy with Venezuela.
“This is the first time in our history that a Secretary of State from the United States of America [is visiting]. This should be celebrated by our people,” he said. [Extracted and Modified from the Department of Public Information]
