US Ambassador to Guyana, D. Brent Hardt has said that the historic outcome of the November 28 general elections has given all Guyanese a seat at the political table.
In remarks to the Rotary Club of New Amsterdam on February 25, the Ambassador also said that the reinvigorated talks between the executive and legislative branches of government is the essence of vigorous democracy. He lauded the move by the new Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman to make the Assembly more accessible to members of the public.
The presentation follows:
Remarks
Ambassador D. Brent Hardt
To the
Rotary Club of New Amsterdam
February 25, 2012
Thank you Dr. Shivkumar for your kind introduction and thank you also for your invitation to join you and your New Amsterdam Rotary colleagues this evening. I am truly delighted to be here with you and to be back in New Amsterdam. As we gather tonight to commemorate Paul Harris’ birthday, I am reminded of the founding question Rotary Clubs around the world pose: what would it take to change the world? As I have served in many countries throughout the world, I have always been impressed by the extraordinary commitment that Rotary members bring to helping others and to building stronger communities. In fact, I had the opportunity to attend last year’s regional Rotary gathering in Barbados where the creative efforts of Rotary clubs throughout the Caribbean region were highlighted. Rotary is an organization that genuinely puts its philosophy of “service above self” into action as a pathway to change the world and achieve greater international peace and understanding.
In the context of this Rotarian commitment to local, national, and global engagement, I welcome the opportunity to meet with the New Amsterdam Rotary Club this evening to discuss with you ways to advance peace and understanding within the global community, our hemispheric community, and closer to home here in Guyana.
Achieving international peace and promoting international understanding are among the core goals of United States’ engagement throughout the world and are priorities that President Obama and Secretary Clinton have pursued with energy and determination over the past three years. They have done so in an international environment that has been fraught with challenges to peace and understanding.
With continued conflict in the Middle East, constantly evolving treats from terrorists, the ever-present risk of nuclear proliferation, global recession, impacts from climate change, hunger and disease, and a widening gap between the rich and the poor in many countries, the obstacles to peace and understanding are varied and daunting. Many of these threats have been magnified by defining characteristics of our 21st Century world: economic interdependence, open borders, and the rapid movement of information, capital, goods, services and people. As President Obama has observed: “This is the simple truth of a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our connections. Your prosperity can expand America’s prosperity. Your health and security can contribute to the world’s health and security. And the strength of your democracy can help advance human rights for people everywhere.” So it is precisely these characteristics of our era that open the door to new opportunities to address these global challenges to peace and understanding.
The United States is committed to playing a leadership role in meeting the challenges of our time. But we also recognize that no nation can meet the world’s challenges alone. The issues are too complex, and the range of actors capable of influencing events are too numerous, ranging from rising regional powers, to corporations, to criminal cartels, non-governmental organizations, media outlets, and individuals on Facebook or Twitter. We have seen in the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ just how these multiple actors can create change, and just how complex such change is to manage.
That is why the United States under President Obama has sought to think outside the usual boundaries of diplomacy and launch a new era of engagement based on common interests, shared values, and mutual respect. To make the most of my country’s unique strengths to achieve these goals, we are seeking to engage other countries, including Guyana, in a spirit of partnership. We seek a partnership with Guyana rooted in our shared values of democracy, liberty, justice, and opportunity. Together we seek to promote these universal values both through the power of our example and by empowering people in countries throughout the world to advance and respect these values. Secretary Clinton has referred to this approach as “Smart Power” – the “intelligent use of all means at our disposal, including our ability to convene and connect,” our economic and military strength, our capacity for entrepreneurship and innovation, and “the application of old-fashioned common sense in policymaking.”
At the core of smart power is the power of understanding – which is one of our themes tonight. To promote better international understanding, we are not only seeking close and productive ties with governments, but we are also reaching beyond governments to people and civic groups such as Rotary. We are promoting an array of education exchanges, public outreach, including through new media such as Facebook, boosting entrepreneurism, working with young people, and supporting free and vibrant media outlets.
The keys to successful partnerships are good and active partners, and I can say that I have been delighted to meet so many committed Guyanese in my first half year as Ambassador – Guyanese of all ages and ethnic backgrounds who are working to build a better Guyana and are eager to work together with the United States to this end. I have met young people at the University of Guyana who were dedicated to encouraging open debates during the recent elections. I have met Guyanese women, men and children determined to help combat domestic violence. I have met with entrepreneurs working with USAID to develop new agricultural industries and fishery exports or to promote eco-tourism and environmentally friendly development of forestry products. I have sat down with media editors and journalists signing on to election codes of conduct, and have met with leaders of civil society organizations seeking to build stronger communities at the grass roots. This has been the most enjoyable and inspiring part of my job as Ambassador.
My core goal as President Obama’s representative is to forge a closer and more productive partnership with the Government and people of Guyana to help build a more prosperous, secure, democratic and healthy Guyana. Our talented and hard-working embassy teams seeks to achieve this through diplomatic engagement, development assistance, and an active two-way flow of people, ideas, and information. Each day we seek to answer the question: how can the United States and Guyana work together more closely and build a forward-looking and mutually beneficial partnership?
To build peace and understanding in the Western Hemisphere, President Obama’s outlined a vision for partnership between the United States and our neighbors rooted in four pillars: 1) effective and accountable institutions of governance; 2) economic prosperity, health, and social equality; 3) security for our citizens; and 4) a future of clean energy and respect for our environment.
In recent decades, the Western Hemisphere has witnessed a momentous transformation from a region riddled with autocratic governments to one in which democracy is now the norm – as embodied in the Inter-American Democratic Charter — even if democracy is under pressure in some countries. Peoples and societies have increasingly embraced the values of tolerance, openness, and inclusiveness. And, they seek a democracy that can deliver results. Guyana has been part of this hemispheric transformation, and its recent elections reflected the commitment of the Guyanese people to these democratic values of tolerance and inclusiveness.
Especially since 1992, when former President Jimmy Carter played such an instrumental role in restoring democracy in Guyana, the United States has been working as a partner for building accountable and transparent governance and stronger democratic institutions. We were pleased to have been able to work hand in hand with the Government of Guyana, with GECOM, with non-governmental groups such as the Elections Assistance Bureau, and with the media and civil society to promote free, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections in 2011.
Through USAID, we provided training and support to GECOM, including fingerprint verification of electoral lists that boosted confidence in the fairness of the electoral playing field. We supported voter education outreach, election observation, and media code of conduct training. All of these efforts strengthened the even more critical efforts of thousands of dedicated Guyanese to ensure the success of the electoral process, which resulted in an historic outcome that has given all Guyanese a seat at the political table in a reinvigorated National Assembly. The revitalized dialogue and debate between the executive and legislative branches of government – as difficult as it may seem at times — is the very essence of a vigorous democracy. In this regard, I applaud the initiative of the new Speaker of the Assembly and its members to bring the Assembly closer to the people, make it more accessible, and build popular understanding of the Assembly’s vital legislative and oversight roles.
For it is essential for all countries in the Hemisphere to look beyond the election process, which is a necessary but not sufficient measure of effective democracy, to the deeper roots of enduring democracy – active and engaged citizen participation in the political process. Here, too, the United States has been pursuing partnerships through our engagement with the media, the University of Guyana, the private sector, and civil society organizations to help strengthen these critical foundational pillars to democracy. We have over many years sought to prepare the groundwork for local government elections, which are essential to bring democracy to the local communities where people feel the impact of government most directly. With all political parties agreed on the need for such elections, the United States hopes to be able to support this vital step forward in Guyana’s democratic evolution.
While democracy’s foundation lies with creating an open space for individual opportunity, it is also reinforced by expanding economic growth and broad-based prosperity. That is why the U.S. is committed to working with Guyana and its Caribbean neighbors to expand economic and social opportunity, encourage financial stability, promote economic reform, and integrate competitive markets with each other and the global economy.
Trade offers a main avenue to expand economic opportunity, and in 2010, Guyana traded more with the United States than with any other country in the world. Guyana exported US$298.6 million of goods to the United States while importing US$290.4 million of U.S. goods – a trade surplus for Guyana. Guyanese products such as apparel knit with American-made material, sugar, seafood, fruit, and other agricultural products enjoy duty-free access to the U.S. market under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, which was extended to 2020.
To help ensure Guyana’s export and import numbers continue to grow, the United States is engaged in a number of economic initiatives throughout Guyana. Our USAID Guyana Trade and Investment Support, or GTIS, project encourages local businesses to explore new export and business opportunities in non-traditional sectors such as agriculture, eco-tourism, wood products, and aquaculture.
Within the agriculture sector, the GTIS program is helping link Guyanese farmers with larger producers and exporters to expand their export capacity. These links are also generating a transfer of technology, such as greenhouse farming, drip irrigation, and integrated farming techniques, while increasing agricultural production. Eco-tourism is another sector where the United States is working with local partners to expand and improve markets within Guyana. Tapping into Guyana’s clearly emerging attraction as an eco-tourism destination, U.S. initiatives have helped attract high-end visitors who want to enjoy the vast diversity of Guyana’s wildlife, whether through birding or sport fishing. The very healthy growth within the eco-tourism sector has provided employment and income for not only those in the tourism sector but for indigenous communities as well.
In addition to our eco-tourism partnership, the United States seeks to work with Guyana on innovative climate change initiatives. We have worked with the government to develop a comprehensive Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system, a National Forest Inventory, and other specialized scientifically-based means to register carbon capture, all of which will enhance Guyana’s ability to sustainably manage its rainforest and protect the Guiana Shield.
Another fruitful area for economic partnerships is the evolving nexus between Diaspora communities and their countries of origin. Secretary of State Clinton, who got to know Caribbean Diaspora communities well during her tenure as Senator from New York, recognized the extraordinary potential of the Diaspora communities to contribute to their home countries. While Diaspora communities have long supported families in their home countries through remittances, there are additional ways that the great store of talent, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit within the Guyanese Diaspora can be engaged to contribute to the development of their countries of origin. To this end, Secretary Clinton introduced the Caribbean Idea Marketplace (CIM) to build on this potential. The Idea marketplace will offer grants to members of the Caribbean Diaspora who propose projects that can create employment and economic development in their countries of origin. This and the other economic partnerships I have highlighted reflect the United States’ firm commitment to supporting a prosperous Guyana and building prosperity and better understanding within the Hemisphere.
Of course, the peace and prosperity we all seek cannot be achieved without enhancing citizen security. Governments throughout the Hemisphere are facing a common challenge to create adequate opportunities for young people in order to limit the attraction toward, criminal activity, which can lead to violence and insecurity. I think everyone can agree that ensuring our people’s safety and security is one of the highest priorities for all governments.
Globally, enhancing security will require countries to work together to reverse the spread of nuclear weapons and prevent their use, to isolate and defeat terrorists, reduce regional tensions and end civil strife, promote a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and promote transition to more representative governments in countries that have thrown off undemocratic governments.
Within the Hemisphere, crime and violence represent the greatest threats to the security of our citizens, and the only way we can succeed in ensuring the safety of our people is by working together and adopting a comprehensive approach. That is why President Obama launched the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, or CBSI, at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in 2009. CBSI is a partnership that seeks to enhance the capacity of the Caribbean to address the full range of security challenges facing the region. Its primary goals, which were developed together with our Caribbean partners, are to 1) substantially reduce illicit trafficking, whether in narcotics, weapons, or people, 2) increase public safety and security, and 3) promote social justice. To achieve these goals we have been working with our regional partners and with Guyana to strengthen our maritime interdiction capabilities, professionalize law enforcement agencies, reform juvenile justice sectors, and provide new opportunities for at-risk youth. One of the strengths of the CBSI is that it does not only seek to deal with the consequences of crime, but actively seeks to address the root causes of lack of jobs, skills, and opportunity for young people. In Guyana, USAID is actively developing a new skills training program for young people to complement other ongoing initiatives launched by the government in this area. The private sector can play a vital role in such programs by partnering to provide training and employment opportunities for young people who may be minor offenders and who have successfully navigated through training or reintegration programs.
In the two years since its launch, the CBSI has already succeeded in bringing the countries of Caribbean, the United States, and other international partners such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and EU countries together to define the core security challenges and devise innovative and collaborative solutions to them. The United States has dedicated US $139 million to the initiative in its first two years and the President has requested a higher level of funding in his recently announced budget, reflecting the strength of this U.S. commitment to the region’s security. Ultimately, of course, the CBSI’s success will depend on continuing commitments from all CBSI partners as well as the assistance of other international donors. It will require countries to ensure their law enforcement authorities are well-trained and funded, that they are vetted to ensure integrity, that investigations lead to effective prosecutions and convictions, and that laws are updated to ensure authorities can operate on a level playing field with rapidly evolving criminal enterprises.
I would like to mention another important area of citizen security in which the United States is actively engaged in dialogue with Guyana: combating Trafficking in Persons, or TIP. Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that respects no boundaries and therefore requires a coordinated international response. It is a brutal crime that exploits vulnerable men, women and children. It exists everywhere. Our international engagement on the issue seeks to build the understanding, commitment, and capacity of countries around the world to combat the scourge of TIP. The issue for all countries, including the United States, is not how many cases of TIP are occurring, but what is being done to combat the incidents of TIP. A recent seminar on Combating Trafficking in Persons held by the U.S. Department of Justice in Georgetown provided an ideal venue to build understanding on this vital issue and to examine what steps can be taken to improve anti-TIP efforts in Guyana.
Before closing, I would be remiss if I did not mention a program that I believe has done much to build understanding between the United States and Guyana: our extraordinary partnership to advance public health for the people of Guyana through the PEPFAR program – the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Over the past eight years, PEPFAR has supported Guyana’s impressive efforts to reduce the incidence and care for victims of this debilitating epidemic. The United States has provided close to $150 million in assistance so far to boost the capacities of the Ministry of Health and non-governmental organizations to provide greater access to life-saving medications, build technical capacity, provide cervical cancer screening, and reduce stigma and discrimination. I know that health is also an area where the Rotary Club has also made a significant impact, with your longstanding efforts to eliminate polio and donations of medical supports services to individuals and communities alike. Congratulations to you for your generous efforts!
Taken together, the partnerships I have outlined in democracy and governance, economic development, citizen security, and public health represent the pathway we are walking together with the Government and people of Guyana to make the world better for our children and promote international understanding and peace. I look forward to walking with and working with you, the members of the New Amsterdam Rotary, on this pathway in the coming years as we seek to turn our common interests into common actions toward democracy, prosperity, and security. Thank you again for this chance to meet with you and to share some thoughts with you. Let’s continue to work together to build international peace and understanding in the year ahead.
