Guyana has to look after its own interests

Dec 15, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Irfaan Ali is still young to the Presidency. He has great deal to learn.

Even though he was a Minister of the Government for about six years, there is a big difference between being a Minister and being a President. It is a quantum leap and he has to grow into the position and not assume that he will make an easy transition.

As part of growing into the job, President Ali has to be careful with his public pronouncements. Speaking a few weeks ago at an event hosted by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) he made some comments which reflected political naivety. The President was preceded on the podium by a member of the Diplomatic Corps. And when it was his time to address the gathering he sought to pander to the Foreign Diplomats in attendance by saying that he does not see them as High Commissioners and Ambassadors but as partners as part of a collective whole trying to do the best for the citizens of Guyana.

The President has to be careful with his exhortations. As a Head of State he should never have found himself making an absurd statement about the representatives of foreign countries being part of a collective whole to do the best for the citizens of Guyana. The President cannot afford to be this naïve. The Foreign Diplomats in Guyana are not part of any collective whole. They are representatives of their country and their primary mission is to secure the national interests of their respective countries. In so doing they take actions which may help Guyanese but the President must not be deluded into believing that those Diplomats are here to work primarily for our interest.

These Foreign Diplomats are here to ensure that the Government of Guyana does not jeopardize the interests of their Government and that of their Investors. They are here to ensure that their citizens are protected. It is all about their national interest. It was no accident that soon after the PPP/C took office in August 2022, the then US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo paid a visit to Guyana. He was here to protect US interests including that of its companies operating in Guyana and to encourage the Government of Guyana to scale back on its relations with China.

It would not be surprising to learn that the American Government may have something to do with the visit of a Vice News Investigative Journalist as a means of throwing shade on China. The Americans were seeking to protect their national interest, a legitimate function of a country’s foreign policy. When earlier this year a high-level Government Team paid a sudden and unexpected visit to Washington, the political signals were obvious. The US wanted transparency and inclusiveness. Translated into non-diplomatic language, the US was demanding that the award of contracts be fair. In this regard they were securing the interests of their companies. The Line of Credit which was offered by an import/ export Bank in the US was to facilitate local companies buying US goods and services. It was not a partnership to help Guyanese citizens.

When the US pressed for inclusiveness, what they desire is a stable political environment to protect their companies from political risks and to create a better investment climate to encourage more of their companies to invest here and make money. That is what protecting your national interest involves. The President must therefore cease with all the back-slapping. He is going to become vulnerable. His duty is to do for Guyana what the Foreign Diplomats are doing for their countries. His duty is to protect Guyana’s national interest, even if it means displeasing those Foreign Governments. No one is going to look after our economic interests. The Americans have not asked ExxonMobil to renegotiate the agreement it signed with the Government of Guyana. The Americans are not going to say to their own company that it took advantage of Guyana and should make things right. It cannot do that since its mission is to act in the interest of its companies operating in Guyana. So why is the President talking about the Diplomats being part of a collective whole?

Guyana has to look after its own interests. And at times, doing this will bring it into conflict with the Foreign Governments. And those Governments will try to apply pressure on the Government. That too is part of the practice of diplomacy. The President therefore must not get carried away with this idea that the Foreign Governments are part of a collective whole working for the benefit of the citizens of Guyana. The Foreign Diplomats are working for their citizens and their companies and Irfaan Ali must work for his citizens and his companies.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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