Commonwealth group for first meeting on Friday
The Commonwealth ministerial group to monitor developments in the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy is to convene in September in New York and a preparatory meeting is set for London on Friday. The group comprises Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica, South Africa and the United Kingdom. According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last night the group was constituted subsequent to consultations with Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon. Guyana's High Commissioner in London, Laleshwar Singh - at the invitation of the Commonwealth Secretariat - is due to meet on Friday with his counterparts from the ministerial group to brief them on the latest developments in threats to Guyana's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Friday's forum will be followed by the First Ministerial Meeting in New York in September. The release said that Foreign Minister Clement Rohee is expected to participate in that meeting. The decision to establish the ministerial grouping was taken at last year's Commonwealth Summit in South Africa. The release yesterday said at that meeting heads of government had "expressed their firm support for, and solidarity with, the Government and people of Guyana in the maintenance of their territorial integrity". Guyana's initiative to have such a group set up was taken in the wake of the ratcheting up of Venezuela's claim to Essequibo. On October 3 last year, the centennial of the 1899 Arbitral Award, Venezuela reiterated its claim to the region based on its continued contention that the Award was null and void. Guyana at the same time reiterated its position that the Award was a full and final settlement. Tensions have since escalated further over Caracas' pledge to block the Beal spaceport investment and its interference in oil exploration plans offshore Guyana. To the east, Suriname has also upped the ante by evicting an oil rig from Guyana's waters sparking an unresolved crisis in relations with this country.
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