The government is identifying local immigration officers to be stationed at the Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados, to ensure that Guyanese are not singled out for ill treatment.

Making the announcement at his post-Caricom Heads of Government press conference yesterday, President Bharrat Jagdeo said that the local immigration officers would work along with the Barbadian immigration officials.

He said the move had resulted from talks with Prime Minister Arthur on the continued poor treatment of Guyanese at the airport.

He was assured by Arthur and the Deputy Prime Minister, Billie Miller that at the political and administrative levels there had never been and there was no intention to discriminate against Guyanese.

He said he had raised the issue of hassle free travel at the summit because of concerns of how some officials treated Guyanese at the airport.

Several leaders, he noted, supported his position including St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves who spoke of similar treatment of Vincentians across the region.

Jagdeo said he hoped to see an improvement in the way customs and immigration officials treat their own Caricom citizens.

He said he was not going to rest until the hassling stopped, because countries across the region continued to benefit significantly from the contributions of Guyanese at the technical, academic and other professional levels.

He added that it was unfortunate that Guyana did not have the jobs and better paid salaries to sustain its population.