From January 2024, Guyana will serve for two years on the United Nations (UN) Security Council and restoring peace in its sister CARICOM country, Haiti is among the country’s key priorities.
Even before the start of that tenure, Guyana and the United States, which is a permanent member of the Council, held talks on potential ways of collaborating to help Haiti.
This was disclosed by Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a joint press conference held in Guyana on Thursday.
President Ali said helping Haiti was a key focus at the recently concluded CARICOM Heads of Government conference.
And the Heads of Government outlined three main areas of focus: addressing the security situation in the country, providing much-needed humanitarian aid and restoring democratic rule.
Dr. Ali also noted that Kenya and Rwanda committed to organising troops to support the Haitian authorities but funding from the UN would be needed to do that. So, while on the UN Security Council, Guyana will advocate for international support for the French-speaking nation.
Secretary Blinken outlined what the US was doing to support Haiti already, that is, providing humanitarian aid and development assistance. He also said the US has been lobbying for the country to return to democratic order.
And Blinken confirmed that the two countries addressed what can be done to further address the Haiti situation in their bilateral talks on Thursday.
“Haiti is just one area for potential and important collaboration with Guyana on the Security Council,” he said.
Beyond Haiti’s crisis, Blinken said the US is keen on learning about Guyana’s priorities for its tenure on the Council.
