Frankly Speaking The band! The girls! 25 years (FS) today!
Who really cares about Mashramani?
This might just be (the use of elements of) irony if this column turns out to be one of the most brief ones in a long time. You see, dear friends, the publisher, the editor-in-chief and you have combined to allow Stabroek News to accommodate this column for twenty-five (25) years! Yes, friends, today marks 25 years since this offering first appeared on the last Friday in January of 1993. So bear with me as I ask for a marching band, I’m already blowing and blasting away on the – my own – trumpet. I ask too for a few dancing girls to herald and adorn this anniversary today.
For years I’ve let it be known that I’ve never benefited from tertiary education. So I claim no profundity; no ability in terms of scientific analyses; no intellectual depth nor mastery of the social sciences. But I had the good fortune of being a village – school teacher, writer of supplementary school-books, participant in communications and public relations courses – locally and far away overseas. And believe it or not, although never able to abandon humble, very challenging working-class beginnings, somehow I promoted local folklore culture whilst managing to become a politically-exposed person! A PEP!
Three Fridays ago a respected judicial official suggested that I combine many of my own diverse pieces to publish as “Frankly Speaking” – the Man-In-TheStreet Column. He opined that I’ll notice how I developed, evolved, matured over the quarter-of-a-century, worth a thought? become
Sympathy? Doreen, David, start-up
How did this Friday exercise Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, will lead a delegation, including Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, to India for a meeting of the Guyana-India Joint Commission and for Inter-Ministerial Consultations scheduled for January 29 to February 3.
A release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that the visit will provide an opportunity for the two States to further expand relations through political dialogue as well as for the fostering of economic and cultural cooperation. The Joint Commission enables talks between the two countries on all aspects of bilateral relations while the Inter-Ministerial Consultations allow for dialogue in areas of common interest. While in India, the release said that Greenidge is expected to sign and ratify the Framework Agreement on the establishment of the International Solar Alliance, a platform through which sun-rich countries collectively address challenges on the use of solar energy. This will aid Guyana’s efforts to establish a “Green Economy”, including through its renewable energy sector. Also scheduled for signature is a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) on the cultural exchange programme between the two Governments.
In 2016, the two States signed an MOU, for the creation of a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology.
Formal diplomatic relations between Guyana and India were established on May 26, 1966.