Guyana, Venezuela working on fisheries pact, energy accord
-Insanally
By Patrick Denny
Stabroek News
November 1, 2002
Guyana and Venezuela are working towards concluding a fisheries agreement as well as the procedures for activating the Caracas Energy Accord under which oil would be supplied on concessional terms.
The activation of the remaining sub-committees of the High Level Bilateral Commission is also under consideration.
These initiatives were agreed during a meeting last week between Foreign Minister Rudy Insanally and his Venezuelan counterpart, Roy Chaderton in Caracas.
In an interview with the Stabroek News, Insanally explained that the fisheries agreement is to avoid the escalation of tensions caused by the incidents involving vessels caught fishing illegally in Guyana’s waters. These incidents lead to the seizure of assets which cause irritation and increase tensions.
The fisheries pact is to be concluded within a broader maritime agreement, which President Bharrat Jagdeo had proposed at the Margarita Island, Venezuela meeting of the Association of Caribbean States in December. The President has also suggested a similar agreement involving all the CARICOM states and within which framework, bilateral pacts could be concluded. He explained that the framework agreement would set out the conditions under which the exploitation of the fishery resources could be carried out.
The sub-committees to be established are those on agriculture, trade, the environment and economic co-operation.
Other decisions the two ministers took include an undertaking to give new impetus to the UN Good Officer process and for them to each meet with the United Nations Secretary General before the end of the year. They also talked about re-establishing the air-link between Georgetown and Caracas in which some airlines had expressed an interest.
And on wider hemispheric issues, he said Venezuela has agreed to support the establishment of a Regional Development Fund within the Free Trade Area of the Americas and to support the UN call for the establishment of New Global Human Order.
The Regional Development Fund, the minister explained, would facilitate the smaller economies of the region to reach a level where they could meaningfully participate in the process. In return, he said that Guyana has agreed to support the establishment of an International Humanitarian Fund which the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, is promoting.
Asked about the political situation in Venezuela and any concerns the government may have about it, Insanally said there are no unusual concerns as the government has followed the issue in the Organisation of American States (OAS), at the South American Summit and elsewhere. “We have taken a very principled position that democracy has to be fully respected; and the outcome of the electoral process has to be respected and there cannot be, in line with the Inter-American Democratic Charter which we have all signed, any change of government by extra-constitutional measures. We therefore support the coming together of the parties.”
He noted that the Secretary-General of the OAS, Cesar Gaviria is playing a role in the dialogue but that the process has not been easy according to reports he has seen about it.
“But we hope that there can be a resolution of the impasse based on dialogue as it is a matter for the Venezuelan people to resolve peacefully.”
The Chavez government is facing increasing opposition in Venezuela to its rule and there have been many appeals for it to call new elections. Earlier this week, dissident military officers staged protests against the administration.
Asked whether his Ministry is exploring arrangements which would allow for the exploration and exploitation of the marine resources in Guyana’s maritime areas that Venezuela is claiming as its own, Minister Insanally pointed out that the current dispute with Suriname over an offshore zone is not comparable to the controversy with Venezuela.
“We have expressed our concerns that whatever concession that is granted by Venezuela in the area that was delimited by themselves and Trinidad should not impinge on our maritime space”. He stressed, “We are exercising some vigilance on this”. Last year Venezuela pressured several companies that were considering exploring for oil in Guyana’s offshore zone not to do so. At least one has since signed an exploration deal with Caracas.
Insanally said the recent proposals to resolve the Belize-Guatemala dispute could provide a useful methodology for the border controversy with Venezuela.
He explained that there is a framework within which the UN Secretary General is tasked with providing a peaceful means of settlement. “I am sure that we can look with benefit not only at Belize-Guatemala but there have been other resolutions in this hemisphere - Chile-Peru - and farther afield like that of the resolution of the Nigeria-Cameroon dispute.” The latter dispute flared up again this week with Nigeria refusing to abide by a World Court ruling awarding the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.