President David Granger converses with Military Deputy Commander of the United States (U.S.) Southern Command, Lieutenant- General Joseph DiSalvo , before their meeting at State House. Ambassador Perry Holloway and Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Raphael Trotman are left and second from left respectively. [Adrian Narine photo]
January 11, 2017 Source
THE Military Deputy Commander of the United States (U.S.) Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Lieutenant-General Joseph DiSalvo, paid a courtesy call on President David Granger on Wednesday at State House. He was accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Mr Perry Holloway, and a team from his organisation. According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, during the meeting President Granger and General DiSalvo discussed regional security with reference to transnational
crimes and the strengthening of regional security mechanisms. Guyana’s Head of State also used the opportunity to update the delegation on the Guyana-Venezuela border controversy and on the country’s ‘green’ state agenda.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant-General DiSalvo said that with Guyana’s impending economic boom, as a result of the development of the petroleum industry, there will be even more security-related challenges and assured the President of SOUTHCOM’s support, particularly as it relates to the formulation of a sustainable national security programme.
Additionally, Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, and newly appointed Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Patrick West, were also present at the meeting. SOUTHCOM is a joint military command, which supports U.S. national security objectives throughout the western hemisphere in cooperation with domestic and international partners, in order to foster security, ensure stability, and promote prosperity throughout Central and South America, the Caribbean and the global community.
