Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana on the upcoming United Nations General Assembly.

The Guyana delegation which will represent the Cooperative Republic of Guyana at the 72nd Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York headed by H.E. David Granger will include his staff as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Head Office including the Hon. Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Carl B. Greenidge and the Director General Mrs. Audrey Jardine-Waddell.  In addition to the general debate which can be expected to cover a rage of topical issues such as terrorism, UN Reform, Climate Change and economic issues, a number of side events are also scheduled, these include Gender and Women’s empowerment, energy and communicable diseases.  The latter hosted by CARICOM. Several bilateral meetings are scheduled to be held with states from Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and traditional friendly states.  Bilateral meetings will also include Peru and Singapore, Africa and Pacific States. As usual there will be sessions covered by the Commonwealth to look at matters of common interest such as border problems and preparations for next year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference to be held in the United Kingdom.   One shadow for the Caribbean in general hanging over this year’s event is the aftermath of the catastrophic hurricanes which have devastated the region.  A great deal of attention can therefore be expected to be drawn to the treatment of vulnerability of SIDs and other small states and means of assisting them to cope.  The session runs from September 18th to 26th, 2017.