President Irfaan Ali said Guyana was ready to acquire the “ingredients” in the interest of its stability. Speaking at a reception to mark the opening of the French Embassy in Guyana, Dr Ali confirmed that Guyana and France are cooperating in defence and security, among other areas. “Next year, we are going to launch a very important piece of national asset and, of course, our discourse in advancing a package of important ingredients to maintain the stability of our region,” he said.

He also said Guyana recognises the value of collaborating to develop joint strategies to enhance maritime surveillance capability and share intelligence to address emerging security threats. Guyana will next year acquire a French-made offshore patrol vessel (OPV) which is currently under construction, having already been paid for. It will join the nearshore patrol vessel, GDFS Shahoud to bolster the Guyana Defence Force’s capacity to patrol the country’s exclusive economic zone  against incursions, illegal fishing and transnational crime. On Friday, the Chair of France’s Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces, Senator Cédric Perrin, told a news conference that his country has the technology to provide air and sea radar coverage which would allow Guyana to be aware of incursions by Venezuela. “It is evident that due to this tense situation with Venezuela that Guyana needs to acquire equipment to do surveillance and the only country around that has the capacity to cooperate and to bring support is France,” he said. (demerarawaves)