Guyana will not allow any joint activity in its territory without right to approve

Last Updated on Thursday, 14 December 2023, 17:29 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Thursday  indicated that Guyana would not engage in any activities within its territory without enjoying its right to grant approval, even as he maintained that his country reserved the right to defend itself against any aggression by Venezuela.

“I made it very clear that Guyana has all the right to exercise its sovereign right within its territorial space to approve of and facilitate any development, any investment, any partnership, any training, any collaboration, any cooperation, the issuing of any licence and the granting of any concession within our territorial space and within our sovereign space,” he told reporters after a break in talks with Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro at St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Argyle International Airport under the auspices of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean nations (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Following Venezuela’s December 3 referendum, the Maduro administration has incorporated Essequibo into Venezuela’s map and has said the state oil and mining companies would search for oil, gas, gold and minerals in Essequibo, and that foreign companies have three months within which to leave concessions that have been awarded by Guyana.

As Venezuela ratcheted up its pressure for Guyana’s Essequibo county in recent months, the Guyana government and parliamentary opposition have been united that the border dispute must be settled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) instead of giving into demands by Venezuela for a return to decades-old fruitless bilateral negotiations.

He resolved Guyana’s position that the dispute about the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award that settled the land boundary between the neighbouring South American nations would not be settled outside the ICJ “I made it clear that the controversy must be resolved by the ICJ and we are unwavering and resolute in ensuring that Guyana’s case is presented, defended and that the ICJ will issue its decision on the merits of the case which, of course, is binding on all the parties,” he said.

The Guyanese leader said Guyana was interested in the “peaceful co-existence” of everyone in the region. However, he indicated that his country would not be bullied by aggressors and would turn to its friends for defence. “Guyana is not the aggressor. Guyana is not seeking war but Guyana reserves the right to work with  all our partners to ensure the defence of our country. All our partnership is based on the defence of our territorial integrity and our society,”

President Ali said the shape and form of the dialogue on consequential issues would be the next phase of the meeting. He said himself and President Maduro committed to Latin America and the Caribbean remaining a zone of peace.