FOREIGN
RELATIONS
After independence in 1966, Guyana sought an influential role in international affairs, particularly among Third World and nonaligned nations. It served twice on the UN Security Council (1975-76 and 1982-83). Former Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Attorney General Mohamed Shahabuddeen served a 9-year term on the International Court of Justice (1987-96).
Guyana
has diplomatic relations with a wide range of nations. The European
Union (EU), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN
Development Program (UNDP), the World Health Organization (WHO),
and the Organization of American States (OAS) have offices in
Georgetown. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has its Secretariat
headquartered in Georgetown.
Guyana strongly supports the concept of regional integration. It played an important role in the founding of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), but its status as one of the organization's poorest members limits its ability to exert leadership in regional activities. Guyana has sought to keep foreign policy in close alignment with the consensus of CARICOM members, especially in voting in the UN, OAS, and other international organizations.
A longstanding maritime boundary dispute with Suriname was resolved largely in Guyana's favor in August 2007. The dispute had flared up in June 2000, when a Canadian company drilling for oil under a Guyanese concession was forced to cease operations by Surinamese military gunboats. After several failed attempts at negotiation, in 2004 Guyana took the dispute to the UN Law of the Sea tribunal, which unanimously determined that the vast majority of the area in contention belonged to Guyana. The resolution of this dispute will likely have significant ramifications for Guyana's economy in the long term, as the seabed is estimated to contain approximately 15 billion barrels of oil.
Another territorial disagreement remains unresolved, however. In 1962 Venezuela challenged a previously accepted 1899 international arbitration award, and claimed all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River--62% of Guyana's territory. At a meeting in Geneva in 1966, the two countries agreed to receive recommendations from a representative of the UN Secretary General on ways to settle the dispute peacefully. Diplomatic contacts between the two countries and the Secretary General's representative continue, with a quiet détente on the issue currently prevailing.
U.S.-GUYANESE
RELATIONS
U.S. policy toward Guyana seeks to develop robust, sustainable democratic institutions, laws, and political practices; support economic growth and development; and promote stability and security. During the last years of his administration, President Hoyte sought to improve relations with the United States as part of a decision to move his country toward genuine political nonalignment. Relations also were improved by Hoyte's efforts to invite international observers for the 1992 elections and reform electoral laws, which resulted in the election of Cheddi Jagan of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) as President. A few months after his death in 1997, Jagan’s wife Janet, a former U.S. citizen, was elected President. She served until 1999, when due to ill health, she delegated her responsibilities to Bharrat Jagdeo. Jagdeo was first formally elected as President in 2001 and re-elected in 2006. This succession of democratic elections, and the first largely peaceful elections in 2006, as well as Guyana’s close cooperation with the U.S. on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, have placed U.S.-Guyanese relations on an excellent footing.
In an effort to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Guyana, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opened an office at the U.S. Embassy in 2002. In January 2003, Guyana was named as one of only two countries in the Western Hemisphere to be included in President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). CDC, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is administering a 5-year multi-million dollar program of education, prevention, and treatment for those infected and affected by the disease. Guyana also benefits from a $6.7 million, two-year threshold country program under the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account developmental program.
U.S. military medical and engineering teams continue to conduct training exercises in Guyana, digging wells, building schools and clinics, and providing medical treatment. In 2007, medical personnel aboard the U.S. Navy hospital ship Comfort provided free health care services to more than 10,000 Guyanese at six sites along the coast. In 2008, more than 6,000 residents in the remote Region One received free medical services when the USS Kearsarge visited Guyana.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--vacant
Deputy Chief of Mission--Karen L. Williams
Political and Public Affairs Officer--Rolf Olson
Economic/Commercial Officer--James Plasman
Chief, Consular Affairs--Nyda Budig
The U.S. Embassy in Guyana is located at the corner of Duke and Young Streets, Georgetown (tel. 592-225-4900/9; fax: 592-225-8497).
