‘We cannot outsource sovereignty’ – President Ali tells officers as Guyana fortifies defence against rising threats

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, said Guyana cannot rely on external actors to defend its sovereignty, stressing that the responsibility rests first and foremost with members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The president spoke to senior officers at Base Camp Ayanganna during the Annual Officers Conference on Thursday, stating that defence is important and that without a strong force, there can be no secure territory, sovereignty, or nation.

“We cannot subcontract our defence, and we cannot assume that any fairy godmother or godfather will always appear at a decisive moment,” the president told the officers.

Guyana operates in a region where security threats are fluid and persistent, and the force must not become complacent. Importantly, with the present situation in Venezuela, President Ali emphasised the need for constant vigilance on Guyana’s borders.

“Guyana must not drop its guard. Guyana must not blink. We must be prepared. We must be ready. We must be ever vigilant,” the head of state underscored.

The Commander-in-Chief, however, made it clear that readiness should not be mischaracterised as hostility, stating that, “Preparedness is not provocation. Readiness is not aggression. Vigilance is not hostility. They’re simply the duties of a sovereign state that takes itself seriously.”

The head of state highlighted the importance of self-reliance and stated that Guyana values diplomacy and international security, promising to grow its defence partnerships.

“These partnerships are not about dependency, they are about capacity building. They are force multipliers, not substitutes for national strength,” he made clear.

He mentioned that cooperation should respect sovereignty and territorial integrity. Since partnerships alone don’t ensure border security or protect national airspace and waters, the government has worked to modernise the military over the past five years, as shown in the increased budget.

In 2019, total GDF expenditure stood at approximately $13.9 billion, with the majority allocated to recurrent spending and about $1 billion to capital investment.

“In structural terms, the force in 2019 was largely being maintained rather than transformed,” President Ali explained.

By 2025, total expenditure increased to approximately $36.2 billion, more than two and a half times the 2019 figure, while capital expenditure rose to approximately $10.35 billion, representing a tenfold increase. The president said this shift reflects a deliberate policy decision to modernise, restructure and retool the Defence Force to meet its expanding responsibilities.

He went on to explain that as Guyana’s resources expand, so too do the threats, pointing to illegal fishing and piracy in maritime spaces, illegal mining on land, wildlife trafficking in forested areas, and transnational criminal activity in the airspace.

“This is why the Guyana Defence Force must see itself clearly and unapologetically as a guardian of the nation’s resources, and not simply as only safeguarding our borders,” the president asserted.

He explained that securing national resources is directly tied to development, as protected assets generate revenue, employment and opportunities for citizens.

In closing, President Ali reaffirmed that while partnerships and cooperation matter, the duty to defend Guyana rests with Guyanese.

The two-day conference is being held under the theme “Transforming the Force to Better Confront the Nation’s Present and Future challenges by enhancing its Awareness, Adaptability and Agility capabilities.”

Prime MInister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips; Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond, Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hickens, Chief Fire Officer, Gregory Wickham, Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), James Singh and Director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Colonel Sheldon Howell, among others were among those in attendance.