Foreign Ministry welcomes appointment of Dag Halvor Nylander of Norway as Personal Representative on Border Controversy between Guyana, Venezuela

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the announcement of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres of the appointment of Mr. Dag Havland Nylander as his Personal Representative in the Good Offices Process on the border controversy between Guyana and Venezuela.

On February 27, 2017, His Excellency President David Granger received a personal communication from Secretary-General Guterres informing him of his decision to appoint Mr. Nylander. President Granger will be responding to the United Nations Secretary-General to advise him that Guyana welcomes his decision and is prepared to cooperate fully with Mr. Nylander over the period of his mandate.

Guyana remains fully committed to the decision as laid out by the United Nations Secretary-General for the Good Offices Process to continue until the end of 2017 with a strengthened mandate of mediation, with the understanding that “if by the end of 2017, the Secretary-General concludes that no significant progress has been made towards arriving at a full agreement for the solution of the controversy, he will choose the International Court of Justice as the next means of settlement unless the Governments of Guyana and Venezuela jointly request that he refrain from doing so”.

The Government of Guyana approaches the ensuing process in good faith, and trusts that the Government of Venezuela will do likewise.