Georgetown: The exchange between the Foreign Ministries of Guyana and Venezuela, relative to the latter’s claim to the Essequibo region, have continued with the latest statement coming from Guyana on Friday.
And President Donald Ramotar has reaffirmed his Administration’s commitment to the use of diplomacy to address any threats to relations between the two countries.
“Our diplomacy has been delivering for us over the years…diplomacy remains our best defence,” he said.
The latest bone of contention is the current Administration’s decision to give the USA-based ExxonMobil a concession to drill an exploratory well for oil in Essequibo coastal waters.
The standing contention of Guyana is that a deepening of ties will be affected by Venezuela’s “threats and actions against local investors wishing to operate and those already operating” in Guyana.
According to the President, these are sensitive issues that will hopefully be resolved over the table.
“We still believe that our first level of engagement must be done at the level of diplomacy and we have been working hard at this level to address the issues….these are sensitive issues….we hope that the issues with Venezuela will be resolved over the table,” he said.
The territorial integrity of the Essequibo region, historically, was pronounced on by the 1966 Geneva Agreement, signed by both countries.
The agreement took note of the fact that Venezuela was disputing the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award.
While it did not take any position about Venezuela’s claim to Essequibo, it committed the country, as well as Britain and Guyana, to ensure that “any outstanding controversy…should [be] amicably resolved in a manner acceptable to both parties.”
Asked about a resolution that moves from this base, the President expressed confidence that Guyana will be able to make a good case.
“We feel that we have a strong case, a very good case,” he said.
Additionally, under the leadership of Venezuela’s late former president, Hugo Chavez, and Guyana’s former president, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, bilateral relations had advanced on the basis that specific mechanisms are in place to ensure that the controversy does not impact unnecessarily on fruitful bilateral relations.
Mr Ramotar also made it clear that, in addition to ensuring that bilateral relations are not affected, Guyana will ensure that its development and progress are not stymied.
“We cannot allow our country to be stymied by issues of this nature. We have to continuously work towards resolving issues that have cropped up recently, given the historical premise,” he said.
The presence of ExxonMobil Deep Water Rig, currently in Guyana, was objected to by the Venezuelan Government, but this was subsequently rebuffed by the Government of Guyana via a note verbale to the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.
The note verbale warned that Venezuela must desist from taking any action that could only result in stymieing Guyana’s development and contravening international law.
The company is continuing its operations in earnest and should be soon ready to commence drilling. This was confirmed by Country Manager Jeff Simons, who told the Chronicle yesterday that despite the utterances by the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry, the company is contracted by the Guyana Government. He explained that the oil company will not be engaging in any Government-to-Government matters and will continue to execute what it was contracted to deliver.
Requests for clarification from Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana, Reina Margarita Arratia Diaz, on Venezuela’s current position on ExxonMobil’s operations, as well as the country’s commitment to diplomacy as a means to address recent issues, have gone unanswered.
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