Guyana is in the process of taking steps to ensure that its territory is not compromised by the maritime boundary agreement concluded between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela in the early nineties.

The Sunday Stabroek on January 6 quoted Prime Minister Sam Hinds as saying at a press conference on Saturday that Guyana had always felt, and was making it more known, that the agreement between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela on their offshore boundaries infringed on Guyana's territory.

Foreign Ministry sources told Stabroek News that the relevant steps were being taken to safeguard Guyana's territorial integrity. They said that the agreement also impinged on Barbados' territorial integrity, and that the two countries had been collaborating on addressing the issue.

They noted that Barbados had raised the issue in bilateral negotiations with Trinidad, but were unsure whether written notification of the protest had been lodged.

The Foreign Ministry sources also pointed out that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to which the four countries involved are all signatories, provides that an agreement between two countries should not adversely impact on the territory of another country.

Sources close to the PNC administration have told Stabroek News that Guyana's position had been made known to the parties during the negotiations and after the agreement was signed. They said that Guyana's position on the issue had been made known at various fora since.