Mottley for ‘peace talks’

Enter Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

She is set to head to neighbouring CARICOM state St Vincent and the Grenadines for tomorrow’s critical meeting between the leaders of Guyana and Venezuela, as those two countries seek to find solutions to the land dispute that has drawn the attention of even the International Court of Justice.

Tensions have been high as the two South American states continue their back and forth over the Essiquibo region, an area that covers most of Guyana where 125 000 Guyanese call home, and where massive discoveries of oil and natural gas have been made in recent times.

It will be the first time Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sit at the same table to deal with the land dispute face to face.

The special meeting is slated for 10 a.m. and will be held in the VIP lounge of the E.T. Joshua International Airport in Arnos Vale.

“I will be attending the talks in St Vincent and the Grenadines, between Guyana and Venezuela, facilitated by CARICOM and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). This is a border controversy, but it has the potential to significantly disrupt peace and stability, not only in the two affected countries, Guyana and Venezuela, but in the Southern and Eastern Caribbean,” Mottley told the Midweek Nation last night. (BA)