RESPONSE BY
HIS EXCELLENCY BHARRAT JAGDEO PRESIDENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA
TO ACCREDITATION SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY JEVANA BEN MASEKO
HIGH COMMISSIONER OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE TO GUYANA - 22nd, August, 2002

Excellency,

I am pleased to accept the Letters of Credence by which the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe, accredits you as High Commissioner of the Republic of Zimbabwe to the Republic of Guyana.
In so doing, I wish to express my sincere gratitude for the warm and cordial greetings that you have so kindly conveyed from your esteemed President and the Government and people of Zimbabwe, and express my hope for peace, unity, progress and prosperity for the people of Zimbabwe.
Over the years, Guyana and Zimbabwe have enjoyed a tradition of cordial bilateral relations. These ties, as you are no doubt aware, have had their genesis in, and were cemented during the period of the African liberation struggle. Since then, however, our relations have evolved to focus on other issues of mutual concern which have been conducted primarily at the international level through our membership in organisations such as the Non Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth and the United Nations.
We believe, as you do, that the inescapable realities that are constantly reshaping and redefining international relations require the acknowledgement and support of the developed countries for the creation of a just and equitable world system that would address the needs and aspirations of developing countries. Indeed, the issues in which we were consumed two decades ago and which we surmounted have given way to new problems and challenges which we must now seek to address and overcome. It is incumbent, therefore, upon developing countries like ours, to adopt new responses to these changed circumstances.
Excellency, we view your accreditation today, as your country’s High Commissioner to Guyana, as ample testimony to your Government’s resolve to strengthen our cooperation at this level in order to enhance our capacity to address the global issues that confront us at the international level.
Excellency, the Government of Guyana is committed to pursuing the economic and social development of its people in an atmosphere of peace, stability and prosperity. Towards this end, we continue to engage in political dialogue with all stakeholders since we believe that this objective is more readily attained when there is strict adherence to accepted principles of governance. We are therefore confident that with this acknowledged coincidence of shared values, the people of Zimbabwe will find a timely and amicable resolution to the Zimbabwean land reform issue.
Excellency, as you embark on your new assignment, I wish to extend to you a warm welcome to Guyana and express the hope that your tour of duty as Non-Resident High Commissioner would be a pleasant and rewarding one.
The Government of Guyana stands ready to assist you in discharging the mandate that has been entrusted to you.

I thank you.