Top US security official on visit to Guyana

Jun 14, 2024 News

Prime Minister, Mark Phillips accompanied by other senior government officials met with United States Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins (second from right). Also in photo is US Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot.

Kaieteur News – United States Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins is in Guyana for four days.

Ambassador Jenkins’ visit Guyana spans June 12-15 for continued discussions with partners on issues of multilateral cooperation, including regional security.

On Thursday, she met with Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Mark Phillips, who is currently performing the functions of President. Ambassador Jenkins was accompanied by the US Ambassador to Guyana, HE Nicole Theriot; Special Assistant, Mr. Michael Cognato; Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms. Adrienne Galanek and Chief, US Military Liaison Office, Lieutenant Colonel John Oeffinger. Prime Minister Phillips officially welcomed Ambassador Jenkins to the country, noting that the Government of Guyana welcomes all interactions with senior officials of the US Government. He also said that the Government looks forward to the continued engagement and cooperation between the two bilateral partners. Foreign Secretary, Mr. Robert Persaud and Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan also participated in the discussions.

Ambassador Jenkins, PhD, has served as the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security since July 22, 2021. As Under Secretary, she oversees three bureaus: the Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability Bureau; the International Security and Nonproliferation Bureau (ISN); and the Political-Military Affairs Bureau. In addition, as of May 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken named Under Secretary Jenkins as the senior official to lead the Department’s efforts on AUKUS implementation. Jenkins has the honor of being the first African American to serve as an Under Secretary of State. Jenkins previously served in the Obama Administration as Special Envoy and Coordinator for Threat Reduction Programs in the ISN bureau from July 2009 until January 2017. In that role, Ambassador Jenkins coordinated U.S. government efforts on threat reduction programs alongside international programs that prevent non-State actors with intent to do harm from acquiring chemical precursors, biological pathogens, nuclear material, and radiological sources to develop Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). She was also the State Department’s lead for all four of the Nuclear Security Summits held from 2010 to 2016, as well as the U.S. Representative to the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.

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Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, Lieutenant Colonel John Oeffinger, Special Assistant, United States Undersecretary for Arms Control & International Security, US Military Liaison Office

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