by Shirley Thomas
Guyana Chronicle
May 22, 2001

GUYANA's former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Samuel Rudolph Insanally yesterday took the oath as Minister of Foreign Affairs, saying he would like to see the country project a "really united and serious" image. Commenting on his appointment at the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Georgetown, Insanally said he would like to see Guyana project an image to the outside world as being a country that is "really united and serious" in pursuing its political, economic and social development.

"It is important that the outside world continues to see us as a strong and powerful nation - united in one cause.

"I think we would then be allowed to benefit enormously from the goodwill that exists in the outside world - from people who have been encouraging us in our economic and social development," he said.

Insanally took the oath before Acting President, Mr. Samuel Hinds in the Credentials Room of the Presidential Secretariat.

And just minutes after being sworn-in, the new Minister officiated for the first time in his new capacity when he functioned as Chairman at the opening of the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel.

Insanally said he considered it an excellent opportunity for him to return home and serve.

He said that since he very much shares the vision of President Bharrat Jagdeo for a unified and productive Guyana, he thought that the portfolio would give him an opportunity to help in the area of Foreign Affairs - to put Guyana's relations on the primary level and "to ensure that we can influence the external environment to make it more congenial to our needs at this point in time."

On the timeliness of his appointment, Insanally said: "I think it very fortuitous that my first responsibility of Minister of Foreign of Affairs would be to chair the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean which opens this morning."

Alluding to the impact of globalisation and trade liberalisation, the new era now prevailing, he said: "We are at a stage now where we are looking to see how foreign policy in the region and in our individual countries can be shaped to better suit the circumstances which surround us, so that small countries like ours can try to find a niche and to try and pursue their economic development."

And reporting on Guyana's image abroad, Insanally said that in the United Nations where he served for many years, the profile of Guyana is certainly very high.

"We enjoy prestige and positions that are entirely out of proportion to our size. We have occupied the highest offices in the United Nations - the Presidency of the General Assembly; the Security Council on several occasions; the Economic and Social Councils; the Chairmanship of the Group of 77."

He said that there are very few small countries that can lay claim to that.

Insanally was educated at Queen's College, Georgetown; the University of Guyana; University of the West Indies; University of Paris, France; and the University of Brussels, Belgium. He has studied extensively Modern Languages and International Relations.

He was also the recipient of fellowships in Diplomacy granted by the United Nations and Government of Canada.

Prior to entering Guyana's Diplomatic Service in 1966, Insanally taught French and Spanish at the Kingston and Jamaica Colleges, and in Guyana at Queen's College and the University of Guyana.

From 1966 to 1969, he served as Counsellor at the Embassy in Washington D.C. In 1970, he was appointed Charge d'Affaires in Venezuela. In 1971, he was transferred to the permanent mission of Guyana to the United Nations where, as Deputy Permanent Representative, he was active in the negotiations for the second Development Strategy.

On completion of that assignment, he returned as Ambassador to Venezuela from 1972 to 1978, with concurrent accreditation to Colombia and Ecuador. During that period, he participated in the work of various regional organisations - the Caribbean Community, the Organisation of American States, the Economic Commission for Latin America, the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee and the Latin American Economic System.

His next posting was as Permanent Representative to the European Economic Community in Brussels where he also served as Non-Resident Ambassador to Belgium, Austria, Norway and Sweden, among others.

Insanally returned to Guyana as Head of the Political Division covering the Western Hemisphere, simultaneously serving as High Commissioner to several Caribbean countries. He also served as a member of the Board of Governors at the Institute of International Relations, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.

He has occupied the post of Permanent Representative to the United Nations since 1987, leading his country's delegation to the General Assembly on several occasions. He was also Vice-President of the United Nations Council for Namibia.

He held several other positions locally and abroad. In 1994, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Guyana - a position he still holds.

Insanally was also awarded the Golden Arrow of Achievement; Cacique Crown of Honour; and in 1995, the Order of Roraima. In 1978, he was also conferred the Order of the Libera or (Gran Cordon).

He is also a member of the Executive Board of the International Association of Permanent Representatives and of the Council of Presidents of the National Assembly of the United Nations. He is also Guyana's Non-Resident Ambassador to Japan and the Republic of Korea.

And following the swearing in of Insanally, Mr. Gordon Bradford, a former businessman involved in the logging industry at Bartica, was sworn in as Regional Chairman of Region Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni).

Bradford also took the oath before Acting President Hinds in the Credentials Room of the Presidential Secretariat.

Insanally calls for reorganisation of region's foreign services
by Wendella Davidson

NEW Foreign Minister, Mr Rudy Insanally says the region's foreign services must be reorganised and revitalised to address pressing priorities.

He underscored this in his first official engagement yesterday as Chairman of the fourth meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), saying it was necessary in the face of continuing threats to the exports of the region's basic products such as bananas, rice, rum and sugar.

Difficulties encountered in the area of financial services have awakened the regional countries to the urgency of defending their economic lifelines, he noted.

"The foreign services of our countries must be reorganised and revitalised to address these priorities," Insanally observed, noting that the region's ability to influence the outcome of negotiations in the trade and economic areas will depend ultimately on the ability of the countries to develop and pursue a new and more vibrant diplomacy that will better enable them to achieve their goals.

In an address at the opening session at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Insanally also called for the further strengthening of the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) and the CARICOM Secretariat.

The call for the strengthening of the RNM is in anticipation of a further round of trade negotiations and preparations for drafting the agreement for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), he said.

Of the CARICOM Secretariat, he said because it is essential to the success of the region, the further strengthening will help to enhance the region's representation at the many specialised conferences which regularly take place in virtually every area of human activity.

He suggested that access be made of the reservoir of knowledge which exists in the universities and other institutions of higher learning.

Minister Insanally observed that because of inadequate planning and resources, participation by member states in some of the processes is minimal or in some cases absent entirely.

In the circumstances, it was suggested that there be the augmenting of the diplomatic capacity through mechanisms of joint representation.

CARICOM Heads of Government, the COFCOR Chairman said, are now clearly committed to the pursuit of economic diplomacy to achieve their development objectives.

And he noted that President Bharrat Jagdeo has clearly stated the Guyana Government's intention to fully empower his people to allow them to live in larger freedom.

It is in this context that he noted the need for the reorganisation and revitalisation of the foreign services of the region.

Insanally alluded to two words "diplomacy" and "negotiation" which respectively he defined as the art of negotiation to secure vital interests, and no idleness or business.

"Therefore, for our diplomacy to be effective, we must make the pursuit of regional security, whether it be political, economic or social, a full time business.

"And we must be sure to equip it with the necessary resources to allow it to perform efficiently and effectively, " he contended.

He further observed that the development of such diplomatic capacity is urgent, noting that there are several multilateral processes such as financing for development and the creation of the FTAA which will quickly gain momentum and require specialised attention.

Insanally reminded too of the prospect of another trade round under the agencies of the World Trade Organisation and other important events for the year, including the Special Session on HIV/AIDS, the conference on the illegal trafficking of small arms, the reviews of Rio + 10 and the Children's Summit, all dealing with issues critical to the overall security of the region.

"We must prepare sufficiently for these events if we hope to influence their outcome," he said adding that such preparation is vital since the global agenda has become more extensive, more complex and difficult to manage.

Among those at the opening were acting President Sam Hinds, outgoing COFCOR Chairman, Mr Mervyn Assam, Minister of Enterprise Development, Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Trinidad and Tobago, and CARICOM Secretary General, Edwin Carrington.

Assam said the region is working towards the ultimate objective of sustainable economic and social development in the view of the many difficulties and opportunities posed by the globalisation process.

He posited that the emergence of COFCOR as a major arm of CARICOM is a tacit recognition by member states that the best chance for small and vulnerable countries like those in CARICOM to overcome the challenges of globalisation is through collective action and the articulation and pursuit of a common foreign policy agenda.

He described the past year as "a particularly turbulent time for the region" with a mixed scorecard, adding that while CARICOM has achieved some notable successes, other difficulties have not been so easily resolved.

Carrington said much has happened over the past three years and is in fact happening daily, that, as a region, "we need to stop and ask ourselves a number of searching questions."

These include how is the region perceived by the international community and was it conducting its business to the maximum advantage of the people of the region in as efficient a manner as it ought to, given its very limited resources.

Other questions he threw out were:

** are we aware of who are our true friends and genuine strategic allies;

** how are they demonstrating this relationship and how are we fostering or promoting it;

** are we building relationships with an eye to the future rather than a remembrance of the past and

** are we utilising the many new developments in technology to support the foreign policy strategies of our region.

He referred too to CARICOM's pursuit of the observance of some key values which led to it over the over the past year, mounting electoral missions in Haiti, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

It also convened the Third Meeting of the Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians in Belize City.

CARICOM, the Secretary General added, is also now committed to negotiating an Inter-American Democratic Charter during the next meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly to be held in just over a week's time in Costa Rica.

And, having already adopted its own Charter of Civil Society, CARICOM countries now have a base for considering the issues which are fundamental to the development of such a charter, he noted.