UK Minister for the Americas, David Rutley, visits Guyana amidst Essequibo conflict

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer 

#UnitedKingdom, December 20, 2023 – The United Kingdom is showing further support for Guyana as David Rutley, Minister for the Americas is currently in the country.  Rutley met with Guyana’s president Irfaan Ali at the State House on  Monday, December 18th, 2023.

President Ali, on his Facebook page highlighted that talks were had on the continuation and expansion of this relationship between Guyana and the UK especially in areas of security, sustainable and economic development.

Accompanying the UK Minister were Robert Tinline, Americas Director of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and Jane Miller, the United Kingdom’s High Commissioner to Guyana.

Also a part of the meeting were Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips;  Dr.  Ashni Singh, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance; Hugh Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Captain Gerry Gouveia, National Security Advisor; Brigadier Omar Khan, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force and Mrs. Marcia Nadir-Sharma, the Director of Presidential Affairs.

David Cameron, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom made the announcement of the visit on X(formerly Twitter) highlighting that his visit is regarding the conflict with Venezuela.

“Minister for the Americas @DavidRutley will visit Guyana in the coming days to further show our support for the Guyanese people on this vital issue,” Cameron wrote.

Cameron also pointed to Venezuela’s statement, promising to not resort to force over Essequibo. And, he expressed support for Ralph Gonslaves, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who has made significant efforts to keep things peaceful between Guyana and Venezuela.

“The statement by Venezuela in St Vincent that it will refrain from the use of force and any further escalation is welcome. And it must be followed by concrete actions. The UK supports efforts by @ComradeRalph to promote peace in Latin America and the Caribbean,” he maintained.

Cameron added that it is important that Guyana’s borders and other borders like it are protected.

“Sovereign borders must be respected,” he said.

According to Cameron, the UK will help ensure Guyana is protected.

“The UK will continue to work with our partners in the region and internationally to ensure respect for Guyana’s sovereignty.”