University of Guyana to become major regional leader on security, defence training

Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 March 2024, 15:14 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday announced that the publicly-owned University of Guyana (UG) would be the seat of the National Defence Institute (NDI) to play a major role in Caribbean security, even as he urged that the Caribbean Examinations Council be asked to offer a security subject.

“This partnership is about positioning us, as a country, as a university and we want to position Guyana and the University of Guyana and then the National Defence Institute as the premier regional security institutions,” he said. The President explained that the NDI would serve the 15-nation Caribbean Community, Brazil and “why not even personnel from Venezuela to be part of our security infrastructure from an institutional perspective, from a training perspective.”

The President said the aim is to position the University of Guyana “as a central hub” for security training and integration of leaders for security and defence leadership. Dr Ali said the NDI would be established during the first half of 2024.

Speaking at a ceremony to mark UG’s receipt of the prestigious Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education from the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, he indicated that the NDI would be a “subset” of the United States’ National Defence University. “We find great alignment between the academic curriculum and the strategic thinking of the National Defence University and our strategic vision and strategic thinking as your regional security partner,” Dr Ali, himself a graduate of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies.

The Guyanese leader, who is currently CARICOM’s Chairman, challenged the Guyana Defence Force’s Chief-of-Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana to convince the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to offer a subject on The Fundamentals of Hemispheric Security as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for youths who want to pursue defence and security careers. “That would allow them an early introduction to how complex security matters are and how important it is in the political economy and how important it is in the structure of society and the building out of society,” he said.

The President also recommended that UG and the Perry Centre develop programmes on banking security, cybersecurity, port security, combatting gangs, and conduct of joint operations.