President David Granger met, yesterday, with Mr. Halim Majeed who has been appointed to head Guyana’s Diplomatic Mission in Cuba. The new Ambassador departs Guyana for Havana today.
In a brief comment, Mr. Majeed said that upon his arrival in Cuba, one of his first tasks will be to conduct a thorough evaluation of the work of Guyana’s embassy there, as well as the current status of the relations between the two countries, specifically examining the various development programmes currently in operation.
President Granger, on several occasions, said that his Administration is interested in pursuing economic diplomacy by appointing a cadre of qualified and experienced professionals to advance Guyana’s strategic and national interests.
“The President would like to see our national interest being vigorously promoted and he spoke about meeting with CARICOM Ambassadors. His instruction to me [is] to meet with all of the CARICOM and Latin American Ambassadors and, as time goes by, to meet the diversity of Ambassadors in Havana,” Mr. Majeed was quoted as saying in a statement released by President Granger’s office.
Majeed said he was also asked by the Head of State to strengthen the embassy and pay special interest to bilateral trade with Cuba. “The President believes that Guyana and Cuba can resuscitate the old relations we had in terms of trade and development, so he wants me to pay close attention to investments, trade and similar matters,” he said.
Ambassador Majeed has served Guyana for many years in several capacities. He served as Deputy Chief Political Advisor to the late President Forbes Burnham, and as Head of the Political and Press Division at the Office of the President in the Desmond Hoyte Administration. He also worked as a Project Consultant at the United Nations Development Porgramme, where one of his specific tasks was engaging the Caribbean diaspora in homeland development.
Guyana and Cuba have enjoyed over 40 years of warm, friendly relations since the formal establishment of diplomatic ties on December 8, 1972.
