Commonwealth to monitor Guyana Venezuela border controversy
THE Commonwealth is to appoint a special ministerial group to monitor further developments in the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela. The decision came from leaders at their summit which ended Monday in Durban, South Africa. President Bharrat Jagdeo, who led Guyana's delegation to the meeting, is due home tonight. In their communique, Commonwealth leaders also endorsed better conditions for Guyana and other countries under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. They mandated the Commonwealth Secretary-General to set up a ministerial group on Guyana to monitor further developments in the long-standing border controversy with Venezuela. The communique stated: "Heads of Government expressed their firm support for and solidarity with the Government and people of Guyana in the maintenance of their territorial integrity and sovereignty. "They also commended the continued commitment to a peaceful settlement to the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela. "Heads of Government took note that relations between the two countries had been conducted over recent years in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect, and through the development of programmes of functional co-operation. "They expressed the hope that both countries would resolve their differences on this matter peacefully, and welcomed the good offices process of the United Nations Secretary-General." A beefed-up Commonwealth initiative to bring debt relief to Guyana as the HIPC beneficiary in the Commonwealth Caribbean got continued support from the leaders, as part of a drive to meet development and poverty reduction targets by 2015. "They called for the enhanced HIPC framework to be financed in a way that provided additional resources and also avoided adverse effects on other poor developing countries", the communique said. "They emphasised the need for adequate debt relief and technical assistance from the international community to reinforce poverty reduction strategies in debtor countries and help them achieve internationally agreed poverty reduction and development targets by 2015", the communique stated. Commonwealth governments also requested that there be greater focus on debt burdens in assessing sustainability and the shortening of the required track record of reform of up to six years. They said it was "important that the procedures relating to the poverty reduction strategies should not delay access to timely debt relief." During the summit, President Jagdeo was among Caribbean leaders meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a special session on the region. A spokesman for Blair said he would organise a UK-Caribbean forum next Spring at his Downing Street residence to allow Caribbean leaders to put their concerns to his government. The forum will cover concerns such as investment, tourism, trade, Caribbean security, Britain's role in the legal system of its former colonies and ways of fighting the drugs trade and money laundering.
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