Dear Editor,
The recent visit by the Prime Minister of India and his team was very insightful. President Ali called them brothers and Prime Minister Modi called us friends. The signing of multiple MoUs was a significant gesture towards strengthening our friendship, and their request for oil should be considered the expectation of reciprocity. We must not take without giving. Although only friends to some, our blood ties are deeper to others, and we must not take unfair advantage of either relationship.
CRG recommends linking our oil sales to India to the requirement that our friends / brothers no longer purchase oil from our enemies to the west of our Essequibo. In addition, we should solidify our national defense efforts with the support of the Indian military. Support which goes beyond the purchase of arms, and is solidified in an agreement for military troops from India that supports our efforts to defend our sovereignty when required. Such an agreement will strengthen our bonds of both brotherhood and friendship. The pricing offered for the sale of our oil to India should reflect the value gained by leapfrogging the research and development process in the vaccine industry, which is the expected outcome of that particular MoU.
This will ensure that our friendship with India will be rooted in solid ground with no one feeling taken advantage of by the other. We must also not treat strangers better than those closer to us and must treat them as we would treat ourselves. India should not get a worse deal than Exxon. To be even clearer, Exxon should not get a better deal than India.
Sincerely,
Jamil Changlee
Chairman
The Cooperative Republicans of Guyana
