Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd on Tuesday said that Guatemala and the Dominican Republic are currently working to set up embassies in Guyana while Colombia is preparing to reestablish their mission in the country.
Todd on Tuesday told the National Assembly during the 2023 budget debate that these moves are a result of the work the Government of Guyana has been doing to establish its footprint on the international scene.
He said, “As I speak Mr. Speaker, the Guatemalans are preparing to establish an embassy here in Guyana. As I speak, the Colombians are preparing to re-establish an embassy here in Guyana. As I speak, Dominican Republic, they’re preparing to establish an embassy in Georgetown… Mr Speaker, our international image has been repaired, it’s on the move.”
On January 17th, President Irfaan Ali had announced that Guatemala was preparing to establish an embassy here.
Bogota had signalled for a number of years that it was interested in reopening its embassy here.
In March 2018, more than two decades after the Colombian Embassy was closed here, Georgetown and Bogota discussed having one re-established. Then Minister of Foreign Affairs and acting Prime Minister, Carl Greenidge had told Stabroek News, “They had economic problems which led to the closure and now (2018) they are discussing having a Colombian Embassy here again.”
The Colombian embassy had been housed at the western corner of Peter Rose and Church Sts.
Greenidge had said that he believes that the country at that time saw it ideal to have those discussions restarted and was favourably disposed to having the embassy in Guyana.
Todd on Tuesday stressed that several countries are preparing to establish embassies in Guyana this year. He noted, “We have spent the time between 2020 to now rebuilding Guyana’s image to the extent that our international footprint increased dramatically.” He then noted that the previous administration started a new embassy in Brasilia but that it was never completed, ultimately wasting taxpayers’ money. “I’m encouraged Mr. Speaker, to enlighten the people of this country of a project which commenced under the APNU+AFC that wasted taxpayers’ money of this country and that was to establish an embassy in Brasilia…”
According to Todd, the consultant reported that 64% of the project has been completed to date, however, he added, “this was a contract that was fundamentally flawed.”
He told the members of the Opposition that they presided over a contract while in government “knowing that they could not have delivered on it.”
Todd said that the PPP/C government will continue to work to foster strong bilateral relationships, as he told the Opposition that they cannot manage a country’s affairs much less deal with matters of foreign relations.
