General News

During the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the CELAC high-level Minister of Agriculture meeting, today, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), the President spoke of the need for modernisation and integration.

He also said that women and young people must be intrinsically linked to the system as the region overhauls its approach.

A number of ministers from across the Caribbean and Latin America were at the event.

During the meeting, Minister Todd alluded to Guyana's developmental agenda-The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and stated that environmental sustainability is of paramount importance to Guyana.

Minister Todd and the team noted the longstanding partnership between Guyana and the Republic of Korea and highlighted potential areas of collaboration in forestry, including the exchange of expertise and capacity building and forest science education.

The Honourable Minister during his remarks iterated Guyana’s leading role in advancing the CARICOM Agri-food system agenda and prioritizing food security in the region.

Minister Todd further highlighted Guyana’s co-sponsorship of the draft resolution proposed by Barbados entitled; “Towards enhanced access to climate financing,” which is tabled to be adopted at the General Assembly and noted that this resolution caters for the rebuilding of small island developing and low-lying coastal states with more fiscal space.

During the meeting, key achievements of CARICOM-Canada relations were highlighted and dicussions included the fostering of trade relations and the exploration of greater areas of international cooperation between CARICOM and Canada.

The meeting was chaired by the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada and was held at the Embassy of Canada in Washington D.C.

The meeting aimed to foster dialogue and collaboration among Member States from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Minister Todd is currently attending the the Fifty-Third Regular Session of the General Assembly of the OAS which is in session at the Headquarters of the Organisation of American States, in Washington D.C.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss matters relevant to human rights and cooperation within the OAS framework.

During the meeting, Minister Todd underscored the Government of Guyana’s polices for the promotion of human rights and reiterated Guyana's commitment to supporting the Commission in the execution of its mandate.

The dialogue aims to facilitate discussions and interactions between the Minister and the OAS officials and Permanent Observers.

The Honourable Minister in his remarks, reiterated that the Government of Guyana remains committed to Democracy and rule of law and looks forward to the development of a more strategic roadmap for future engagements.

Minister Todd further emphasized that the partnership between Member States of the OAS and the Permanent Observers provides an opportunity to identify hemispheric challenges of the region for inclusive remedies.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), the Honourable Mark Phillips; Vice President, the Honourable Dr Bharrat Jagdeo; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, the Honourable Anil Nandlall; Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, the Honourable Gail Teixeira; Minister of Public Works, the Honourable Juan Edghill; Minister of Public Service, the Honourable Sonia Parag; Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire and Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag) Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards were also at the meeting.

Minister Todd offered congratulations to the newly appointed Honorary Consul and committed to working towards enhancing cooperation in areas including agriculture and education.

Guyana and Morocco established diplomatic relations on December 14, 2012.

The signing on Wednesday evening was done between Guyana’s Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh and the First Vice President of the European Commission, Mr Frans Timmermans.

The agreement is for a period of four years and is valued at €4.6m.

During brief remarks, President Ali praised the European Union for being one of Guyana’s strongest partners in protecting the country’s sea defence and coastline.