Over the next week and a half, President Bharrat Jagdeo will be out of the country on official state business.
At a press conference held yesterday at the Office of the President, Jagdeo disclosed the purposes of his visits, which primarily include matters relating to Caricom, in addition to matters related to closer links between Guyana and other South American countries.
On Friday, Jagdeo will be travelling to Jamaica, where he was invited by Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding to attend that country’s Emancipation Ceremony. On Sunday, Jagdeo will be addressing those gathered at the Denbigh Agricultural Show which, the Head of State described as one of the largest such shows in the region. He said that he hopes to stimulate interest in agriculture and said he will be advancing the Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture.
While in Jamaica, Jagdeo will also be convening the regional Task Force set up at the recent Heads of Government Meeting in Georgetown to address the financial crises regionally. Jagdeo was selected as chairman of this Task Force.
According to the President, technical work has been done on this issue. He hopes that at the meeting, a clear picture of the financial position of each state could be determined in addition to identifying short-term requirements for these member states, among other issues.
The Head of State also indicated the possibility of him visiting the Dominican Republic at the request of that country’s President. If he does make this trip, Jagdeo said that issues related to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU and the possibility of that country joining CARICOM will be discussed.
According to Jagdeo, in the regional negotiations for the EPA, one of the provisions was that the Dominican Republic be granted the same trade facilities that the other territories in the region have with each other.
He said that as the region moves towards the implementation of the EPA, trade agreements have to be implemented smoothly with all the territories involved particularly the OECS countries.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo said that he will discuss the Dominican Republic’s interest in joining Caricom. He said he intends to listen to this country’s argument, while he will articulate some of the regional views on this process. He emphasised that the decision has to be taken by all of the Heads collectively.
Jagdeo also plans to go to the UNASUR Conference in Ecuador. He identified this “as an important meeting for the South American integration process”. He said that for a long time there has been talk in cementing closer relations with other countries within South America and the rest of Latin America, and he hoped that this would be positive in this regard.
He, however, acknowledged that this could be a contentious conference, especially in light of recent tensions between Colombia and Venezuela.
