FALLING ASLEEP WHILE THE ARAB WORLD IS AWAKENING

Jun 10, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Guyana’s much publicized Middle Eastern diplomacy was a huge flop. Ill-conceived, hastily pursued, the attempt one year ago to build stronger economic and investment ties with a number of Middle Eastern countries was always more rhetoric than substance.
It was one of the biggest foreign policy flops of any local administration. Never before in the history of Guyana has a visiting Head of State made such widespread contacts within the Middle East, touting assistance and investments, and come back as empty-handed as President Bharrat Jagdeo.
Guyana got absolutely nothing substantial from its Middle Eastern diplomacy of one year ago. There were, of course, the usual promises of those countries investing, but nothing has come of that. Nor did anything significant materialize out of a visit to the region of a top Kuwait official. They came and signed a few agreements that would have protected their investors from double taxation and other things, but none of the investors have yet sunk a dime in Guyana.
The Middle Eastern countries have shunned Guyana, which in turn failed to muster the diplomatic skills to develop a follow through on plans to ensure that the original contacts and opening made by the President could have been exploited.
We have heard about an ambassador being appointed to one Middle Eastern country, but that is as good as its gets. The Foreign Ministry has said nothing about pursuing a Middle Eastern initiative or about finding investment opportunities for investors from that part of the world. Nothing is happening because whatever plan exists, is not on paper, but exists in the mind of someone.
But this is not new to foreign policy planning in Guyana. The Guyana government does not understand what effective diplomacy is about, and the importance of foreign policy in attracting investment and aid. It is not prepared to inject the necessary resources into diplomatic work. This will always be a failed strategy. For too long, planned diplomacy has been neglected in Guyana.
Guyana seems to have had no policy when it comes to the Middle East. Even in the case of Palestine, this country did not seem to appreciate that a two-state solution was never part of its stance towards the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Guyana’s historic position has always been that it respected the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people.
The acceptance that Palestine remains an occupied territory has always been the cornerstone of Guyana’s foreign policy. This does not mean that Guyana cannot embrace a two-state solution, but if it does so, there are issues such as the occupied territories, the expansion of settlements and the viability of a Palestinian state. Given Guyana’s historic position on self-determination, it should have been Guyana that should have been leading the process in South America and the Caribbean for the recognition of a new Palestinian State this September in the UN General Assembly.
Two years ago, Guyana rediscovered the Middle East. Specifically, it woke up one day and found that the oil-rich countries of the Middle East had huge sovereign funds. These funds were accumulated because of the oil wealth in these countries. Guyana thought that perhaps it could have some of these funds invested in its country. But invested in what? Guyana went to the Middle East without any concrete proposals, hoping to have some of these oil-rich countries empty a portion of their sovereign funds here. It was a pipe dream.
Those countries are not interested in investing in Guyana. What is there to invest in? It is not as if those countries have a shortage of investment options. Those sovereign funds are for future protection of these states. While some of it may be invested, the vast majority will be retained and held for future generations.
As part of its Middle Eastern diplomacy, Guyana also tagged Libya. But so far there has been no assistance from that country, and none is likely to come if Gaddafi survives, because not a single statement has emanated from the Foreign Service Ministry about the situation in the Middle East.
In fact, the entire Arab world has this year undergone an awakening, and Guyana either does not understand what is taking place or does not know what position to take in relation to those developments. Its Middle Eastern focus was always too narrow and too concentrated on the wealth of those countries, rather than aimed at genuine political cooperation.
It is political cooperation that Guyana must seek with those countries, not economic aid. Guyana has very little to get from the latter approach. The Middle East does not have a tradition of pouring money into these parts. Only Libya, for ideological reasons in the past, made any serious investments in Guyana.
In fact, Guyana owes Libya some US$40M, not US$100M as suggested by someone. That sum Guyana cannot pay back, because its agreement with the Paris Club creditors obligates Guyana not to pay it back. The debt is, however, on the books, but Guyana would be in breach of its Paris Club obligations if it pays it back.
As such, it is something of a mere formality for that debt to be written off because even if Guyana could and wanted to, it would not be permitted to.
The bottom line, therefore, is that no major investment or developmental aid is coming Guyana’s way as a result of its Middle Eastern diplomacy.
It was a failed diplomacy, because it ignored the fact that the building of strong and solid political relations has always been a precursor for economic aid from foreign countries. It failed because Guyana has nothing to offer those countries. None of them are seeking a seat in the Security Council of the United Nations.
And now that the Awakening is happening, Guyana’s Middle Eastern diplomacy has fallen asleep.

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