Guyana is ready for CRIC 17 – Minister Harmon
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DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that Guyana is ready to host the Seventeenth session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CRIC 17). This was after conducting a site visit of the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (ACCC), where the conference will be held.
“I feel extremely proud that we will be showcasing at a major event like this. Walking around here and looking at the preparation, I believe we are ready to welcome the United Nations to Guyana” Minister Harmon said.
The event, which will run from January 28-30, 2019, is the first time since the 1972 Non-Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference that an event of this magnitude will be held in Guyana. It also marks the first time that such an event of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) will take place in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The State Minister noted that upon their arrival the delegates will be surprised at the level of development which has occurred over the last three and a half years. “Many of them might have heard of Guyana, might have read about Guyana but actually coming here and experiencing that level of hospitality, that level of warmth which is the Guyanese people, I think that they will leave here with an excellent experience, they will leave here with the realisation that the people of Guyana are one when it comes to dealing with issues of an international nature” Minister Harmon stated.
He further added that “what I have seen here satisfies me that we have put our best foot forward; the government and people of Guyana will be well represented for the duration of this conference.”
Additionally, the Minister commended the Lands and Survey Commission along with other government ministries who are working assiduously to make the conference a reality. He also lauded the scores of young people who are volunteering wholeheartedly to make the event a success and observed that the notion volunteerism is dead is a myth since “it is alive and well in Guyana.”
Between 400 to 600 delegates from 196 countries around the world are expected to travel to Georgetown, including UNCCD Executive Secretary, Monique Barbut and operational units from the UNCCD Secretariat and United Nations offices, UN media operatives, civil society and Inter-Governmental Organizations.
The event begins on Friday, January 25 and will be followed with an official opening on Monday, January 28 and runs until to January 30, 2019.
Isaiah Braithwaite.
Images: Keno George.