Defence Diplomacy will link Guyana’s foreign policy, defence mechanism and development strategy

On February 24, 2023, President Irfaan Ali declared; ‘’Defence Diplomacy will be paramount in Guyana’s foreign policy”. He added that it will be “a most critical link between foreign policy, the State’s defence mechanism and government’s development strategy and will be ‘a key feature of the country’s national architecture.’” He contextualized Defence Diplomacy to mean that ‘as the country progresses, new strategies will be pursued’. While this was an important announcement, indications are that, save for its publicity in state-owned media, media traction of the President’s announcement has been overtaken by recent developments on the political front. This was reflected in President Ali’s strong condemnation of statements made by a leading member of the WPA who, while speaking at a public meeting at Buxton, called on the Joint Forces to “aim their guns in the right direction”.

Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Chairman of the Joint Services Brigadier Godfrey Bess, in a statement ‘urged politicians and other commentators to ‘refrain from misleading and mischievous remarks that seek to incite racial tension and deviate from peace’. Bess made it clear that ‘the Joint Services is an apolitical institution and will continue to serve the people of Guyana.’ S/N in its editorial of 12.3.’23 headlined; ‘Hate Speech’ referred to the WPA’s representative speech; …’He described the situation in the country as a matter of “political urgency”. He said that the PPP/C had used the police and the GDF in the past to “execute” Africans, and that in the present circumstances, “We have to act and we have to act quickly.” The editorial reminded; ‘what is more frightening is the fact that ethnic rancour is often easy to foment and always hard to stop.’

Ralph Ramkarran in his column headlined ‘Politics and the Joint Services in the same edition of S/N reminded that ‘Guyana’s military has come a long way since the days of ‘party paramountcy’ when it was required to swear political loyalty to the ruling clique, sustained in power by rigged elections, in which the military was unfortunately forced to assist.’ The big question now is, in the light of the current uproar over attempts by extremist political elements to drag the military and security forces into divisive political and ethnic matters, where does Defence Diplomacy figure in all this?

The main areas of defence diplomacy, according to Lech Drab of the Faculty of National Security of the War Studies University, Warsaw, Poland, are: Bilateral and multilateral cooperation - established and maintained at a high level by both civilian and military representatives; Education and military training; Military exercises; Military missions and operations; Intelligence cooperation and exchange of information on the militarypolitical situation and other events related to the issues of security and the state of the armed forces of other states; Cooperation within international security organisations and alliances; Activities related to arms control, disarmament and confidencebuilding measures; Legal and legislative cooperation; Cooperation in the field of defence industries; Military assistance and support for the armed forces of other countries; and, Historical military cooperation and patriotic education.

Drab emphasizes that, ‘Different countries give Defence Diplomacy different content, strictly adapted to the needs of their own security policy.’ In this regard, the defence and security policy of the state of Guyana is defined in article 197A of the constitution: “(1) The State’s defence and security policy shall be to defend national independence, preserve the country’s sovereignty and integrity and guarantee the normal functioning of institutions and the security of citizens against any armed aggression.’ Against this backdrop the role of the GDF is; ‘to defend the territorial integrity of Guyana and to assist the civil power in the maintenance of law and order when required to do so as well as to contribute to the economic development of Guyana’.

In the circumstances, it appears that Drab’s, ‘main areas of Defence Diplomacy’ seem to be the most relevant at this point in time given the exigencies of the political situation in Guyana. Moreover, as regards content and adaptation of Defence Diplomacy, the President’s allusion that Defence Diplomacy will be a key feature of our foreign policy, our defence mechanism and our development strategy’ could not be clearer. But President Ali did not stop there. He went on highlight the human resource factor of Defence Diplomacy stressing that “training and experience of the GDF will be converted into an additional knowledge set to position the force to produce men and women to be part the country’s Defence Diplomacy.” “Additional knowledge set” should be read to mean that in addition to its role as provided for in the Guyana constitution viz; ‘ ‘The Guyana Defence Force established under the Defence Act shall in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities function in such a manner as to earn the respect and enjoy the confidence of citizens.’

From a Guyanese perspective, an appropriate theatre for the practice of its Defence Diplomacy would be the Conference of Ministers of Defence (CMDA) whose overall purpose is; ‘To foster mutual knowledge, analysis, debate and exchange of ideas and experiences on defense and security matters in attempts to better contribute to the development of its member states (CMDA Regulations – Title II, Article 2). Based on recent declarations, the CMDA’s concern of security of the state has been broadened to include human security.

Another theatre that would allow Guyana to engage in the practice of Defence Diplomacy would be the Regional Security System (RSS). The RSS is an international agreement for the defence and security of the Eastern Caribbean. It sets out to preserve the peace and stability of the region by delivering world-class, professional, effective and efficient services through cooperative engagement with partner nations, the security sector and the peoples of the region.’ The RSS envisages a future expansion with South America.

A manifestation of the RSS’ ‘future expansion to South America’ was demonstrated when at the 33rd Inter-sessional meeting of CARICOM Heads held in Belize, members states of the RSS who were present, signed the protocol that would allow Guyana to join the regional security body. While Defence Diplomacy presupposes greater spending for representational enhancement abroad, at the same time, it augurs well for Guyana’s foreign policy, and the country’s national architecture.