Jagdeo wanted to meet with US Congressmen

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo says he would have liked to meet with the US Congressmen and Military Officials who visited Guyana.

At a news conference Thursday, the former President also expressed his displeasure that the visit by US delegation was shrouded in much secrecy.

He told reporters that he was interested in meeting the high-level delegation to discuss a number of issues but did not expand on what these issues are.

However, that team has since departed the country, after a meeting with government officials including Head of State, David Granger.

Jagdeo said he was not invited to meet with them, a custom which has been upheld by foreign delegations visiting the country.

Concerned about the secrecy under which the meetings were held, the Opposition Leader likened it to the negotiations between ExxonMobil and the Guyana Government – which were also done in secret.

According to Jagdeo, that secret meeting gave fruit to a deal which has been criticized by many Guyanese. He was referring to the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) which many commentators feel benefit ExxonMobil more than it does Guyana.

Jagdeo could not expand on possible ways the talks between government officials and the US Congressmen could produce negative results. But he said, “knowing this government”, they will find ways to “mess things up”.

The former President assumed among the things discussed is a major threat from Venezuela, the same threat which he believed caused President Granger to visit certain border communities.

He also had concerns about how the meeting originated and with the fact that the delegation first met with Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman before meeting with the Head of State.