The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) yesterday announced that an agreement has been signed with the Brazilian Navy for a range of assistance and in particular for the flagship GDFS Essequibo.
A statement from the GDF said that Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best and senior officers met with a Brazilian Navy team headed by the Commander of the 2nd Naval District, Vice Admiral, Ademir Sobrinho on February 4th and 5th.
The GDF statement said that the two sides signed an agreement which clears the way for the Brazilian Navy to provide technical, operational and administrative aid “to support the Coast Guard and in particular the GDF flagship, the GDFS Essequibo”.
The agreement, in its current state, the GDF said, is ready for implementation pending the approval of the local Defence Board.
Points of contact have also been established by the two delegations. The two sides also toured a Coast Guard ship at Ruimveldt.
On Tuesday, the Government Information Agency reported that the Brazilian navy had offered to support Guyana in the areas of marine transport in hinterland communities, medivacs and health care services. It said that the offer was made on Tuesday when Vice Admiral Sobrinho met President Donald Ramotar for talks aimed at strengthening ties between the Brazilian navy and the Guyana Defence Force.
According to GINA, the Brazilian navy has been one of the main overseas partners with Guyana to provide the GDF coastguard with training, including on-the-job training onboard Brazilian military vessels. In 2009, Brazil had trained 11 officers of the GDF coastguard in a 16-week training programme focused on several aspects of coastguard operations.
