MODERATOR: Please remain standing. You may be seated. You will be witnessing the signing of the MOU between Guyana and the United States this morning. I now invite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative, Mrs. Peggy McLennan, to give an overview.
MS MCLENNAN: Thank you, Marcia. Your Excellency Mr. President, members of cabinet, ladies and gentlemen, today, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Hilton Todd and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are signing a Memorandum of Understanding between our two countries to deepen security cooperation and address regional challenges, including countering narcotics trafficking and transnational organized crime. Under this mechanism, Guyana and the United States will strengthen information sharing, synthetic drug detection, transnational organized crime investigations and prosecutions, and military-to-military cooperation.
MODERATOR: Thank you very much. We now have the signing between the two nations.
(The Memorandum of Understanding was signed.)
(Applause.)
MODERATOR: Thank you very much, and now I invite his excellency to address us.
PRESIDENT ALI: Good afternoon, all. Secretary Rubio, you are no stranger to Guyana. Secretary Rubio has been and continues to be a strong advocate for Guyana's development, democracy, and peace. He has consistently demonstrated his personal commitment to the national rule of law, democracy, and security.
Guyana and the United States share a long bond of friendship and partnership. Indeed, the best of partnerships are those built on shared values, neutral trust, and a commitment to the rule of law and international order. This is what underpins our bilateral relationship and friendship. The United States is our trusted partner as we continue to build a stable, secure, and democratic society here.
This visit has allowed us to consolidate our bilateral agenda - defining policies and outlining clear intentions in areas of security, trade, energy, investments, infrastructure, democracy, regional peace and stability, human capital deployment, and development. I am very pleased at the reassurance of the U.S. in ensuring the safeguard of our territorial integrity and sovereignty. Our partnership and joint commitment to the safeguard of this region from every disruptive force is key to the maintenance of democracy and adherence to the rule of law.
The threats from Venezuela were specifically discussed. Their blatant violation of the ICJ order and Argyle Declaration were noted. Our joint commitment in enhanced partnership in combating transnational crime - inclusive of narcotrafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and all forms of smuggling - is reflected in an enhanced MOU signed today.
We have reassured our partner that we'll continue to ensure all international and local labor laws are adhered to in the hiring of regional and international labor. Further, with our expanding healthcare system and critical shortage of human capital, we'll explore areas of collaboration, filling existing gaps.
We were able to identify key infrastructure that are also critical to regional development as possible areas for investment and development. We have committed to working closely together on the deployment of our energy potential, ensuring greater integration, value creation, and regional energy security, food security, and enhanced trade through joint initiatives to remove hurdles and expand existing areas of interest is key for both countries. I am confident that the outcome of this visit has further aligned our policy agendas, shared commitment, and partnership that will see enormous benefits for our two countries and the region.
Let me once again thank Secretary Rubio for his personal commitment and that of the U.S. government to Guyana and this region in general. I thank you.
(Applause.)
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. And we have been working together and interacting for some time during my time in the Senate, but I told him I wanted to wait until I was Secretary of State to visit, and so here I am. And I didn't know that was going to happen, but I'm grateful for your - for this visit and for the warm welcome we've received, and it's an exciting time to be here.
I think - and to the people of Guyana, thank you for welcoming us. I hope you fully appreciate and understand this is one of the most exciting places in the world to be right now, because you have the opportunity, at this moment, to transform this country for generations, and we want to be your partner. We want to be your partner in making that possible. We think it's of mutual benefit to see that happen.
I get to visit in this job - already have - a number of countries in the nine weeks. I've only been on the job for nine weeks, so let the record reflect after nine weeks this was one of my first visits here that I've taken abroad. But we get to visit a lot of counties and when you visit you have some countries, unfortunately, are facing tremendous challenges and they're just looking to stabilize. Other countries are looking to improve and make progress. This country has an opportunity to transform. And that's rare in the history of nations, to have an opportunity for transformative change. And what I mean by transformative change is not simply oil and gas fields. And that's very important - natural resources are critical - but that is just the basic ingredient that allows prosperity to happen.
One of the topics that's talked about all over the world today is data centers and the digitization of the economies, artificial intelligence. Do you know what you need in order to do that? You need to have really good scientists, and engineers, and technicians that know how to run it. But the most important thing you need to be a dominant presence in the world in data centers and artificial intelligence is reliable and affordable energy. That's just one example, among many others.
You have an opportunity to expand, in a responsible way, agriculture production, not just for the needs of your population but for the region, and to do it in a way that safeguards the beauty and the natural environment, that's pristine. You have an opportunity to expand in issues of ecotourism. I'm not a big fan of ecotourism - not - I'm not against ecotourism; I'm not an ecotourist. I like staying at hotels. I'll do it; maybe I'll go somewhere. But there are people that love this stuff. They love it. And you have an opportunity to do that in an incredibly responsible way.
I'm just touching on a few things, but - that are opportunities before you. And that shared prosperity for your country that will come as a result of that is transformative. The lives of your children, the lives of your grandchildren, your lives are going to look very different in five to ten years under this leadership and under this vision as it continues, and we just want to be a partner.
Why do we want to be a partner? Let's - just to be frank, why does the United States care about it? Number one, we care about it because we think it creates a level of stability in the region which we share - which we share. Not just stability here, stability for your neighbors, because we believe prosperity can become contagious. Just like instability can become contagious, stability and prosperity can become contagious. It won't just help you, it will help all of your neighboring partners in the Caribbean Basin and the region writ large, and we think that ultimately makes life in America safer and more prosperous as well. And so we wanted to look for every opportunity possible to partner with you.
But the basic element of any of this, the basic element of progress and transformation and prosperity, is always security. So number one, we want to make sure that some of the tragic regional problems that exist with crime, transnational crime - we have a huge problem in the world right now with organized gangs and narcotraffickers that destabilize societies - we want to make sure that never reaches here. And that's why today's MOU and the work we'll do together will - is designed not to stop it, but to prevent it from ever taking root, from ever finding its way here. Because unfortunately, sometimes crime is attracted by prosperity and targets prosperity.
And the other are regional threats - the regional threats based on illegitimate territorial claims by a narcotrafficking regime. And I want to be frank, and I've said this during my time as a senator, and I have full confidence in saying now as the Secretary of State: There will be consequences for adventurism. There will be consequences for aggressive actions. And that's why our partnership in that regard will be important. That is not what we want to be a feature of our relationship, but it is a necessity of our relationship, because you have a very difficult challenge on your hands with a dictator that's making illegitimate territorial claims.
And so you have our full commitment and support - today we're demonstrating it - both in tangible ways, and we're going to look for ways to make it long-term and sustainable ways, to make abundantly clear that we are invested both as a nation and from our people in being your partner in transformation and in prosperity. And we will not allow illegitimate territorial claims to be an impediment to your dreams and to your right to develop this country into a symbol that I hope will inspire others to follow the example you set, Mr. President.
So thank you. Thank you for the chance to be with you. (Applause.)
