Georgetown, GINA, January 12, 2004

Most of the decisions coming out of the Hemispheric Summit of the Americas were negotiated prior to the Summit and there was little possibility of Guyana’s Head of State changing these views were he present at that meeting.
The Summit was held on January 12&13 in Monterrey, Mexico, with strong Guyana representation.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rudy Insanally headed the Guyana delegation.
President Bharrat Jagdeo was unable to attend the Summit because he was at the time on a State visit to India.
Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, Clement Rohee also attended the Mexico summit, along with Guyana’s newly assigned Ambassador to the United States, Bayney Karran.
In a television interview today, President Jagdeo expressed concerns that some sections of society, particularly the Stabroek News, presented the issue in what he termed a bias way. He noted that the views expressed against his going to India, instead of the Mexico Summit, shows lack of knowledge about foreign policies.
At Summits, such as the one in Monterrey, the President said, leaders are not given much time to speak and most of the initiatives are already negotiated, so chances of changing decisions are slim.
He noted that the US State Department had contacted the Guyana Government prior to the Summit on the issues to be raised there - support for strong language against terrorism and corruption.
The President noted that Guyana’s position is similar to that of the US Government and his team that attended the Summit conveyed this position. The President also expressed confidence in his Foreign Affairs Minister to represent the country at the Summit.
“Optically it may look good to be in the photo opportunity, but my presence there would not have altered anything significantly,” the President stated.
Outlining benefits of his trip to India, the Head of State noted that he had the opportunity of following up on discussions he had with the Indian Government when he last visited in August 2003.
The President has managed to secure financing for the new multi-million dollar stadium, as well as a line of credit from the Exim Bank in India for the development of key sugar estates.
The Bank was willing to lend the money, but the arrangements did not accommodate Guyana’s criterion set by the International Financial Institution of each loan having a grant element of more than 35 per cent. During this recent visit, President Jagdeo concluded negation to have a clause in the loan agreement to meet that criterion.
The President contradicted claims by persons that he visited India to represent the interests of Indo-Guyanese only. Refuting this notion, the Head of Site said 45 scholarships were secured from the Indian Government for this academic year and these will not be given to Guyanese of Indian descent only, but to all qualified applicants.
“They are for my people, not a particular group, or for Indo Guyanese,” he said, adding, “I do not regret going to India to pursue national interests.”
President Jagdeo maintained that “no one can question my Government’s commitment to the Free Trade Areas of the Americas,” so his not attending the Summit is not a reflection of lack of interest or commitment.
The Head of State also pointed out that it is a honour for Guyana to be invited to two State visits to India within five months.