Speaking late Wednesday evening during a reception at the Cara Inn on Pere Street, Kitty, to mark Russia’s National Day, Mr. Prokopiev said: “We believe that progress…could only be facilitated by the soonest resumption of the dialogue between the Government and the Opposition.”

He said it is Russia’s fervent wish “that every issue in your society is settled at the table of negotiations, within the margins of legality and democracy, on the basis of constructive cooperation in the spirit of trust and mutual understanding”.

Noting that Russia is also following “with interest and sympathy” developments taking place here, particularly as they relate to the political and socio-economic issues, Prokopiev, whose term of duty here is soon at an end, said while the problems facing Guyana and Russia may have certain national characteristics, they are nevertheless similar.

“Like you,” he said, “we too face the tasks of development of democracy, strengthening of the force of the law, creation in the society of the atmosphere of respect to the laws, principles of civilised co-existence along with the full respect of national, ethnic, religious and other affiliation.”

“We are united with the efforts being made here to make relations in the society in the areas of the above-mentioned areas harmonic, friendly and constructive to promote solutions of the fundamental problems of its entire population.”

Commenting on his country’s progress, Mr. Prokopiev said that Russia’s economy grew, in spite of a global economic recession, by six per cent, thereby creating new jobs and reducing unemployment by 700,000.

Because of this growth in the economy, which was stimulated by an increase in the volume of domestic investments and consumption, the Russian envoy said, real income increased by almost six per cent; “people have started to feel more confident about tomorrow”.

The Ambassador said, too, that Russia, without any assistance from anywhere, has, in a timely manner, been servicing its external debt, which has been reduced this year by $10bln, and has also been able to regain its leadership position after a ten-year hiatus as the world’s second largest producer of oil and its biggest in the sale of energy resources.

But in spite of these achievements, Mr. Prokopiev said, the Russian government is convinced that in order to provide a decent living standard for every citizen and ensure Russia’s influence and membership in the international community, it needs to not only achieve a higher economic growth rate but also to be more actively involved in world economic matters.

Noting that this is the course Russian foreign policy is taking currently, Mr. Prokopiev said: “We believe that despite the tough competition in trade, it is of particular importance to us to be able to find allies in the world in the settlement of the current crucial political problems and challenges.”

He said that by being actively engaged in international affairs, Russia is proving, in reality, that it is one of the most reliable guarantors of international stability; that it was the principal stand taken by Russia which made it possible to form a solid international anti-terrorist coalition, in obvious reference to the role his country played in the massive manhunt mounted by the international community for Osama bin Laden and members of al Qaeda in the aftermath of September 11.

“By united efforts,” he said, “an important strategic task has been solved; the most dangerous centre of international terrorism in Afghanistan has been liquidated and its negative impact on the situation in other regions of the world has been stopped.”

Among other issues the Ambassador touched on were the recent agreement reached between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and George Bush (jnr) of the United States of America (USA) on the reduction of nuclear arms, and the state of Russian relations with other world economic blocs, including the Caribbean, and international organisations.

Deputising for President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is out of the country, Prime Minister Mr. Samuel Hinds commended the Russian Government for the stand it has taken on the thorny issue of nuclear arms, and expressed the hope that now that the two leaders have come to an agreement with the recent signing of the arms race treaty, more attention and resources will be devoted to the problem of development.

Noting that Guyana, as a developing country, has always been a strong advocate for greater investment in human development rather than nuclear armament, Mr. Hinds said: “We would therefore encourage even further reductions of nuclear arsenals.”

He, however, pointed to the much larger threat of international terrorism, the fight against which “is already consuming much of the resources that might have otherwise been devoted to the pursuit of the ‘development agenda’.”

Mr. Hinds said “it would be a sad irony, indeed, if the opportunity for directed, collaborative action against the scourge of poverty, disease, hunger and inequity, for which the developing world has longed, were to be again dissipated by a predomination of the international agenda by security issues.”

The Prime Minister posited that while terrorism, whether international or domestic, can hardly be ignored, there’s need to ensure that the economic and social priorities of developing countries are not sacrificed.

A dilemma that “is particularly well illustrated in Guyana’s case,” Mr. Hinds said, “is that much material and financial resources have had to be devoted to boosting security locally to deal with not only terrorism but also such other threats as arms and drug trafficking, and violent crime.

The net effect of having to deal with these burdensome issues, he said, is that they detract from the government’s efforts to consolidate its economic gain of recent years, which situation it can ill-afford.

But, in spite of this, the Prime Minister said, the government remains resolute in its pursuit of democracy, which it believes is the system of government that is best suited to good governance and the equitable development of people.

While this is not an easy task, Mr. Hinds said, it is the hope of the government that through continuous dialogue and the resolution of differences through peaceful means, it will achieve its goals.

In closing, the Prime Minister said that the Guyana government is looking forward to working with its Russian counterpart in addressing issues of common interest and concern at international fora such as the United Nations (UN).