Address By Hon. Moses V. Nagamootoo, Prime Minister & First Vice-President Of Guyana To The Open Governement Partnership Summit, Mexico City (October 28th 2015)

Guyana Fully Committed

To Rule Of Law

Excellency, President Pena Nieto, Vice President of South Africa, Ministers, Ambassadors, Social Partners, Leaders; Guyana is grateful to Mexico for the kind reception and hospitality and for the invitation to attend the Open Government Partnership 2015 Global Summit. Guyana salutes the United States and other founding members for kick-starting the OGP initiative and congratulates Mexico on its leadership in the past year.

For Guyana, being here is a kind of homecoming as this is where we need to be or ought to be in the near future. We look forward to being the 70th member, in the 70th year of the United Nations, once we conclude the consultation process and find sponsorship and support for our candidature.

Our government is only five months young, having come into office in May this year. I bring greetings from President David Granger, with assurance that we are fully committed to the rule of law, open democratic governance, open justice, the free media and accountability.

We are a coalition government of six parties faced with the twin battle to reestablish our democracy and to protect our national sovereignty. Guyana is a small country with vast resources. Our border with our Western Neighbour was settled in 1897 under the treaty of Washington. However, Venezuela has sought to reassert a false claim to five eights of Guyana which includes all of our vast forest and mineral resources as well as our exclusive maritime zone. Venezuela has imposed a trade embargo against Guyana, refusing to buy our rice or to sell us fuel.

Venezuela has also sought to block oil exploration off Guyana’s coast and gold extraction in our own territory, all in clear violation of international law and treaty obligations.  Guyana claims territory from no one. Guyana does not imprison political opponents or practice blackmail or bullying diplomacy. We seek to be part of a community of nations that respect the rule of law and to align with transformative movements like OGP.

Partnership on the core tenets of transparency, civil participation, and the fight against corruption are a celebration and a strengthening of democracy and, importantly, it allows for the development of both our citizens and our country.

During the elections campaign this year,

I borrowed from the Ten Commandments

the law “THOU SHALL NOT STEAL.”

Today I find in this partnership and in the objectives of the OGP much that could help us to fight corruption and so we feel that we have found good company.

We undertake to follow all the procedures hereon to become a member of OGP and to seek endorsement and full approval of our candidature. We are proud and humbled to be here. We thank you for having us.