Georgetown: Canadian Defence Attaché, Colonel Yvan Boilard paid a courtesy call to Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best at his office at Defence Headquarters, Base Camp Ayanganna recently.
It was the Colonel Boilard’s first visit to the GDF and the two officers mulled likely areas of cooperation between the Guyana Defence Force and the Canadian Armed Forces. In addition, they also initiated points of contact to facilitate easier communication between the two Forces. Colonel Boilard is resident in Brazil and bears responsibility for his government’s military affairs across South America.
Among the proposals made by Cdre Best, was the possibility of Canadian support for Coast Guard officer training and certification, with such certification being enabled through the services of a retired Canadian naval officer. Colonel Boilard agreed to explore that possibility and reiterated that, Canada will continue to fund the five places awarded annually to the GDF at the Caribbean Junior Command and Staff course which is held in Jamaica.
Cdre Best also sought to engage Canada’s involvement in providing training for GDF personnel in the areas of Anti-Piracy strategies and Security for oil-rig platforms. The benefits and means for the enhancement of State Partnership programmes also formed part of the discussions. Commodore Best also extended an open invitation for the Attaché to return at any time to visit the GDF.
Guyana has benefited from diplomatic and military cooperation programmes with Canada over several decades.
You must be logged in to post a comment.