President Irfaan Ali is mulling the acquisition of materiel from India as part of an effort to upgrade and modernise the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
The Department of Public Information (DPI) disclosed in a release yesterday that the Government of Guyana is taking “significant” steps to modernise the GDF and is currently exploring all options for acquiring new equipment and supplies.
DPI reported that President Ali while in India, sat down for an exclusive interview with an Indian multinational news channel, WION, which is headquartered in New Delhi, where he remarked that one option under consideration is purchasing materiel from India.
According to the release, Guyana has already begun to increase its level of military cooperation with India, including working more closely on a wide range of activities. It noted that the President pointed out that Guyana has already embarked on closer and more “elaborate” military-to-military cooperation with India, with several officers currently being trained in India. This cooperation, it added, includes developing an integrated relationship in terms of technology, equipment, and human resources and is aimed at supporting Guyana’s efforts to modernise and retool its military.
Several ranks of the GDF are currently benefitting from or have completed courses in the South Asian nation, through that country’s Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training programme for friendly foreign countries.
The President also noted that his government has communicated to the Indian authorities “that it has no objection to and supports India’s involvement in the modernisation drive.” It was noted that the administration has been “strategic” in making the necessary investments in army bases countrywide to improve their technological capability and to advance the educational development of ranks.
The Commander-in-Chief has been pushing tertiary-level educational development among the nation’s defence force members with the view that these academic upgrades are essential and align with the administration’s mandate to improve the lives of every Guyanese, the release added.
