Lula coming to Guyana

Brazilian President Lula da Silva will be among several heads of government in Guyana for the CARICOM summit which opens this weekend in Georgetown.

President Irfaan Ali is chair of CARICOM and will host his colleagues from the 15-nation trade and integration bloc as Guyana champions food, energy and climate security in the region.

Lula, a recipient of Guyana’s highest national award – the Order of Excellence– had helped broker talks between President Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after the border controversy escalated when Venezuela sought to annex the Essequibo region and take it by force, pushing through with a referendum to seek a mandate for his expansionist agenda.

Lula is expected to host Presidents Ali and Maduro in Brazil soon for another round of talks following the initial meeting in St Vincent and the Grenadines late last year in which Venezuela assured that it will not use force against Guyana. Although Guyana has never done so, Guyana also agreed not to resort to the use of force.

Lula is expected to be in Guyana early next week.

He will hold bilateral talks with President Ali and he is also expected to address CARICOM Heads of Government.