Argentina remains committed to closer ties with Guyana – as Argentine Revolution anniversary is observed

Georgetown, GINA, May 29, 2013

 

The anniversary of the Argentine Revolution was observed for the first time in Guyana with a reception this evening at the Pegasus hotel that featured a toast between the recently sworn-in Ambassador of Argentina to Guyana Luis Alberto Martino and President Donald Ramotar.

The Argentine Revolution, otherwise referred to as The May Revolution marked the starting point of the Argentine War of Independence during the period May 18 to 25, 1810. It was a struggle that led to the declaration of independence from the former Spanish colony on July 9, 1816.

President Donald Ramotar and Argentina’s Ambassador to Guyana Luis Alberto Martino toast on the occasion of the 210th anniversary of the Argentine Revolution

Today marks the 210th anniversary of the Argentine Revolution, and a proud moment for Ambassador Martino who played an integral role in the process to reopen an Argentine embassy in Guyana.

Since June 2011, the Argentine Government under the helm of the country’s female President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, had pursued the goal of reopening an Embassy that was first opened in 1980, and operated until 1991.

That objective has been accomplished, notwithstanding some details in the installation process still to be ironed out, Ambassador Martino told the gathering of diplomats this evening.

“With the reopening of our embassy in Georgetown, Argentina hopes to further strengthen our bilateral ties and develop areas of mutual cooperation… I pledge the total commitment of my government to work closely with the Government and the people of Guyana in the spirit of integration and very particularly, within the framework of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR),” Ambassador Martino told President Ramotar.

 

President Donald Ramotar delivering remarks on the occasion of the 210th anniversary of the Argentine Revolution in the presence of Argentina Ambassador to Guyana Luis Alberto Martino, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and a gathering that included members of the diplomatic corps

Membership in UNASUR and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) has allowed the two countries to sustain cordial and productive diplomatic relations, particularly within the South American hemisphere.

With that country’s policy to expand its presence in the Caribbean and establish partnerships in the spirit of integration, the Ambassador was given the assurance that the Guyana Government shares the vision of a common understanding and a ‘harmonisation of the political economic cultural and social ethos of the peoples of the hemisphere’.

“We anticipate that the combination of the resources and strength will enable us to grapple successfully with the global challenges that lie ahead, and allow us to take full advantage of the opportunities that exist,” President Ramotar said.

After presenting his letters of Credence in April, Ambassador Martino had given the assurance that the incorporation of Guyana and Suriname to Mercusor associate members will be honoured in keeping with an agreement made at the last Mercusor summit in Brazil in December.

 

Mercusor is a regional trade agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay which under UNASUR, is integrated with the Andean Community of Nations (a trade bloc comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru).

CATEGORIES