Declaring that Guyana wants peace amid the border controversy with neighboring Venezuela, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has asserted that his compatriots do not need to fear.
“We have been constantly talking to the Guyanese. There is absolutely no need to fear. We are ensuring that we are prepared at every level,” Ali told reporters on Tuesday.
He spoke ahead of Thursday’s meeting with Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Ali said Guyana wants peace and is working towards that.
But he said his country was not naive.
“We have every intention of ensuring the safety and security of our people, of our borders,” the Guyana President told reporters.
He assured that every investment in his country was safe and encouraged investors to continue investing in every region of Guyana.
“When you are on the side of international law, when you are on the side of principle, when you are on the side of morals, when you are on the side of ethics, when you are on the side of what is right, there is absolutely nothing to fear,” Ali emphasized.
“We fear nothing. The world is behind us. We have good friends behind us and we are very confident that good sense will prevail,” he disclosed.
Responding to a reporter’s question, the Guyana President said the United States is a very important strategic partner.
He explained that Guyana and the US had signed an advance defence agreement.
Ali said a major training exercise had started and would continue in the coming months, followed by other programmes.
“There will be active training programmes and exchange programmes that were pre-planned that would continue, and what I would say to you is that our partners are monitoring this, and they are strongly supporting Guyana,” he told reporters.
