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Time for an Israeli embassy in Guyana

Nov 27, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

The presentation of the credentials of the Israeli Ambassador to CARICOM on November 5 went uncommented. But the event should provide us with an opportunity to discuss the question of an Israeli embassy in this country. I would like to think that other CARICOM nations should pursue such a possibility.
A number of years ago, I made an identical suggestion during the Jagdeo presidency. I am renewing that call now. If Mr. Ramotar is not going to pursue historic changes to Guyana’s social and political landscape then he can still leave a legacy by emulating the foreign policy boldness of former President, Forbes Burnham. In the heat of the Cold War, Burnham suggested a CARICOM initiative to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1974.
Times have changed profoundly since 1974. Israel in 2013 is not what Cuba was in 1974. Guyana, too, has changed profoundly since 1974. Israel now has diplomatic relations with CARICOM as a bloc. It would be a logical extension of that opening for individual countries to exchange ambassadors. This is an occasion waiting for Mr. Ramotar to at least sign his name in the history books.
In inviting Israel to have am embassy in Guyana (I don’t think Israel would hesitate if asked), Mr. Ramotar would want to look at the positives and negatives. The immediate question is if Guyana stands to lose from aid and trade from those countries that would oppose such an initiative. But who are the countries that would frown upon such a policy position?
Surely, it cannot be Arab countries. Many of them have diplomatic relations with Israel, and several of them who don’t have such ties, do have Israeli trade representatives in their capitals. The opposition may come from Muslim organizations in Guyana itself. That would be interesting, in that there could only be one explanation – the Palestinian conflict. But why can’t Guyana maintain support for a Palestinian state while treating Israel as an important nation that Guyana as a poor, developing country can benefit from? The two are not mutually exclusive.
After the collapse of the Cold War, the international relations of the world were turned upside down. In a world where economics have replaced geopolitics, it makes absolutely no sense for nations to continue to inhabit an old world that is long gone. The main countries through which Guyana receives its sustenance have very close diplomatic ties with Israel. There is no need to mention our Western allies; that all Guyanese know.
China and Israel have a productive engagement. The trade between the two is a growing one. Here is the irony. If Guyana could depend on China for trade and aid and China has an Israeli embassy, what reason should poor Guyana give to refuse to accommodate the Israelis?
Here is some interesting information on Israel’s diplomatic contacts as sourced from Wikipedia. The Jewish state has seventy resident missions, twenty-two consulates and five special missions. One hundred and fifty-nine states recognize Israel including all, I repeat, all the major developed nations in the world.
Interestingly, all the countries in the Third World with which Guyana has friendly ties, have diplomatic relations with Israel, except Cuba. Two of these countries need to be mentioned here, India and South Africa. When you go through the list for Africa and South America, a Guyanese cannot help ask the question, “Why not here too?”
On the positive side, Israel is no poor Third World land. The World Bank classifies it as a developed country, though if you rank it with developed nations, it would be lower down the ladder at number 43.
It is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of advanced European economies, plus South Korea and Mexico. One of its main contributions to Guyana could be in the area of aqua-culture, a sector that Israel has excelled in.
Unlike 1974 when President Burnham, out of fear of reprisals in the Cold War climate sought a CARICOM umbrella for his Cuba initiative, Mr. Ramotar is not under such pressure. I don’t believe there is an Arab or Muslim country that would denounce Guyana if this country invites an Israeli embassy.
But if Mr. Ramotar is unsure, he can copy Mr. Burnham and seek a CARICOM consensus for his move. But surely the era of the Cold War and Israel’s ostracization are dead and gone. We live in a world that bears no resemblance to that epoch. I don’t know who advises President Ramotar on foreign policy, but a historical opportunity awaits him.

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