Pres. Granger forgoes CARICOM meeting to deal with domestic issues

President David Granger has opted to stay in Guyana to deal with “domestic issues” than attend a high-level Caribbean Community (CARICOM) meeting in Haiti.

The meeting is the Twenty-Ninth Inter-sessional Meeting of The Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM.

A statement from the Ministry of the Presidency (MotP) said “the Guyanese Head of State regrets his absence at the meeting but has opted to remain in Guyana to focus on domestic issues at this time.”

The statement did not specify what “domestic issues” are engaging the Head of State’s attention but recently, President Granger has been visiting communities close to the border with Venezuela and he has commanded that security in those areas be intensified.

A new Guyana Defence Force (GDF) base was recently opened in Whitewater, Region One and 24-hour GDF security was established in Kaikan, Region Seven.

Meanwhile, Guyana’s three member delegation to the meeting will now be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who is also performing the duties of Prime Minister.

The Inter-sessional meeting is being hosted in Haiti from Monday, February 26 to Tuesday, February 27, 2018.