President Ali says Guyana ‘honouring, implementing’ Argyle Declaration as Todd leaves for meeting in Brazil

President Dr. Irfaan Ali on Wednesday said the meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd and his Venezuelan counterpart in Brazil on Thursday is proof that Guyana was honouring and implementing the Argyle Declaration – an 11-point agreement which includes a commitment from both countries to refrain from escalating the decades old border controversy.

“The meeting is very important and is a step in fulfilling what was agreed in St Vincent, the establishment of a joint commission to look at consequential matters and develop and agenda for the talks to continue,” Dr. Ali said on Wednesday during an interview with a local journalist at State House.

Presidents Ali and Maduro met in December in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and within the declared agreement was a commitment for a second meeting in Brazil within three months.

“It is important from the agreement perspective for us to move to honour and implement the agreement,” Dr. Ali added.

The Guyanese Head of State believes that continuing the conversation between Guyana and Venezuela at all levels is critical as it supports a stable and peaceful environment.

Dr. Ali said the meeting on Thursday will allow both sides to set the agenda for himself and Maduro to speak on when they meet again.

“Issues of climate, trade, energy security… these are all things that are critical to a stable and peaceful environment,” he added.

The meeting on Thursday is part of those to be held between the technical teams from Guyana and Venezuela.

A Joint Commission is being set up to further advance the Argyle Declaration and as agreed to previously, comprises Foreign Ministers and technical persons from both states.

President Ali earlier in January told the News Room that the technical teams must meet to hammer out the framework for his next meeting with President Maduro.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Guyana remains fully committed to the principles of the Argyle Declaration in particular the maintenance of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Guyana’s delegation will be led by Todd and will include Robert Persaud, Foreign Secretary; Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, Permanent Secretary; Richard Van West Charles, Ambassador of Guyana to Venezuela; Donnette Streete, Director of the Frontiers Department and Vernon Robinson, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the Guyana Embassy in Brazil.

Why the meetings?

Venezuela held a December 3 referendum that many feared would be used to greenlight a potential seizure of two-thirds of Guyana’s territory- the entire Essequibo region- that the Spanish-speaking nation has claimed for decades.

Subsequently, President Maduro issued a redrawn Venezuelan map that includes Guyana’s territory, told investors to leave and planned activities in the Essequibo region.

Guyana has maintained that the territory is its own after an 1899 Arbitral Award determined the boundary between the two countries as is internationally-recognised. Because of Venezuelan aggressions and decades of failed talks, Guyana eventually took the border controversy to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where the case is ongoing. Guyana hopes for a final, binding judgement that affirms that the Essequibo is its own.

So a meeting was brokered amid rising tensions fuelled by Venezuela’s attempts to undermine Guyana’s sovereignty.