Secretary-General calls on Guyana Prime Minister

During their meeting, Mr Sharma and Prime Minister Hinds discussed some of the challenges facing Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean in the face of the global financial crisis and exchanged ideas about the solutions needed.

Mr Sharma noted that it was crucial that the international community develop consensus on the forms of assistance and other support that should be provided at a global level to ensure resilience for small and vulnerable states as they grapple with financial, climate, energy and other challenges.

“What is needed is the kind of support that enables small societies to anticipate and deal with the challenges,” he said.

The Secretary-General also enquired about the timetable for local government elections in Guyana which were last held in 1994, underlining the importance attached by the Commonwealth to democracy at local, regional, national and international levels. Mr Sharma said the Commonwealth was willing to provide Guyana with assistance to overcome technical or constitutional barriers that may be causing delay in holding local government elections.

Guyana held its last national elections in 2006 - which the Commonwealth supported through a programme of technical assistance. The Secretary-General will be calling on the National Election Commission during his visit to discuss implementation of recommendations of the Commonwealth Observer Group present at those elections.

Mr Sharma and Mr Hinds exchanged views on climate change issues. The Prime Minister said that President Bharrat Jagdeo has proposed a low carbon development strategy for the country. The Secretary-General praised this as part of Guyana's ongoing commitment to environmental and sustainable development issues. He noted that the public profile of the Iwokrama Rainforest Programme - a collaborative partnership between Guyana and the Commonwealth - needs to be raised given its relevance to current global debate about climate change and its importance as an international development model.

The Iwokrama Rainforest Programme is a unique international initiative launched under Commonwealth auspices in 1990. Under the programme, the Government of Guyana has set aside some 360,000 hectares of pristine tropical rainforest to demonstrate how forests can both be conserved and sustainably developed, with strong participation in the programme from local indigenous communities. The Commonwealth Secretariat helped with the design and establishment of the programme and has continued to support it through mobilising funding for institutional capacity strengthening and other forms of technical assistance. Iwokrama is now the largest and longest project ever funded under the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation.

Before leaving Guyana on Saturday, the Commonwealth Secretary-General is expected to meet other senior political leaders, to attend a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit, and to visit the Commonwealth Youth Programme Caribbean Centre.

Secretariat Links:

• Country Profile: Guyana

Related Websites:

• CARICOM