WASHINGTON, DC - United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Tuesday held talks with Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali, aimed at further strengthening bilateral security cooperation, according to the US State Department’s deputy spokesman, Tommy Pigott.
President Irfaan Ali and US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio in this file photo.“He commended President Ali for his leadership as a regional security partner and for Guyana’s growing role in promoting stability across our hemisphere,” Piggott said in a brief statement.
He said Rubio reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to “deepening security cooperation with Guyana to address shared challenges, including illicit narcotics and firearms trafficking, which threaten regional stability and economic resilience.
“Both leaders underscored the importance of continued collaboration to disrupt foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal networks while strengthening law enforcement capabilities and border security,” the US State Department’s deputy spokesman added.
The discussions between Rubio and President Ali came less than a week after the US military invaded Venezuela, and seizing the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on drug related charges.
On Monday, Maduro, identifying himself as President of Venezuela, pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism, drugs and weapons charges in a New York Federal Court. The matter has been adjourned to March, 17 and both Maduros have been remanded into custody.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, in a statement issued in Georgetown on Tuesday, said Rubio and Ali spoke on “recent developments in Venezuela and other issues of importance in the Western Hemisphere”.
Persaud said President Ali welcomed Secretary Rubio’s reaffirmation of the US continued support for and partnership with Guyana “in defence of our sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that they committed to remain engaged on areas discussed and other areas of mutual interest.
“President Ali commended the leadership of President (Donald)Trump and Secretary Rubio in reaffirming a shared commitment to freedom, democracy and regional security, according to the Foreign Secretary. President Ali reiterated Guyana’s steadfast commitment to working with the United States – the region’s strategic and important security ally,” the statement from Georgetown said.
It said that President Ali also “re-emphasised Guyana’s support for every effort to combat transnational crime, including drugs and gold smuggling, and narco-terrorism” and that Georgetown reiterated its “respect for the rule of law, free and fair elections, upholding of democratic norms and the furtherance of peace and prosperity for all the people of the region”.
Last December, Guyana and the United States signed an an “expanded” military cooperation agreement, but the details of that pact had not been revealed.
“The two countries also signed a Statement of Intent to expand joint military cooperation with full respect for the sovereignty and laws of both countries,” President Ali said, following talks with senior US officials, including US Senior Advisor to the Secretary of War, Patrick Weaver, and the Acting Assistant Secretary of War for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Joseph Humire.
