From the first day of dialogue between the presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, the will to maintain communication channels to reach a peaceful solution regarding issues consequent to the territorial controversy over Guyana Esequiba emerges.
Precisely, to guarantee mechanisms of understanding between Caracas and Georgetown, a Joint Commission is established, made up of the ministers of Foreign Affairs and technicians of both countries “to address mutually agreed issues.”
The decision is contained in the Joint Declaration, which was read – after 9:00 p.m. – by the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, and states that the update of the Joint Commission “will be presented to the Presidents within a period of three months.”
This instance of permanent dialogue will be accompanied by the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves; the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; and the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva. Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, will do the same as an observer.
Likewise, it also includes the agreement of Guyana and Venezuela “to continue dialogue on any other pending matter of mutual importance.”
In the 11-point document, the Federative Republic of Brazil is confirmed as the venue for the second meeting between Nicolás Maduro and Irfaan Ali, which is expected to take place in the next three months or at another time considered by the parties involved.
Earlier, the president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, noted that “dialogue is a process that has begun,” thus assuming the proposal of the Venezuelan Head of State to prioritize negotiation as “the only way to reach effective, satisfactory and practices” in accordance with the provisions of the 1966 Geneva Agreement.
“This is a dialogue, an open process,” he noted.
Kingstown, capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, became – this Thursday – the epicenter of the first meeting between Nicolás Maduro and Mohamed Irfaan Ali to address the territorial controversy, an initiative sponsored by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom); and accompanied by the United Nations Organization (UN) and the Federative Republic of Brazil.
In this regard, the participation of President Nicolás Maduro, in addition to adhering to the popular will expressed in the consultative referendum of December 03, which outlined political, legal and diplomatic actions for the defense of territorial sovereignty, responds to the firm conviction of maintaining the peace of Latin America and the Caribbean.
