– signed agreement, joint press conference with GDF set for Tuesday
COMMANDER of the United States (US) Southern Command, Navy Admiral, Craig Faller, will be in Guyana on a three-day visit, beginning today, as joint security efforts between Guyana and the United States are strengthened. According to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, the Admiralty will meet with government and defense leaders and discuss the bilateral security partnership between the United States and Guyana. He will meet with President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Guyana Defense Force (GDF) Chief of Staff, Brigadier Godfrey Bess.
On Tuesday, Admiral Faller will sign a Procurement and Cross-Servicing Agreement with Brigadier Bess at State House. A short joint press conference will follow that signing ceremony. This agreement between the two countries’ militancy paves the way for the exchange of goods and services of equal value to support future bilateral defense cooperation. The US Southern Command comes under the clarification of the US Department of Defense.
The Order works to strengthen partnerships in many areas including security, humanitarian aid, foreign disaster relief, human rights, and public-private cooperation. In addition, the body focuses on counteracting threats such as narcotics operations, transnational criminal organizations, among others.
And the Southern Command’s area of responsibility includes the Latin American land mass south of Mexico, the waters near Central and South America and the Caribbean Sea. This area covers 31 countries and 16 dependencies, of which Guyana is one. The body has representation from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coastguard, and several other federal agencies and has security cooperation with defense and public security forces in the region.
“The United States and Guyana have a longstanding history of security cooperation. The defense partnership between the two countries includes cooperation against regional threats and challenges, capacity building commitments, bilateral training, exchange of expertise, exercises, and participation in military education programs, ”noted the US embassy.
In September, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Guyana and the two countries signed a Shiprider agreement that allows maritime cooperation between the two countries. Joint exercises between the GDF Coastguards and their US counterparts have recently begun, implementing this agreement.