On May 17, Dr. Keith Rowley, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago arrived in Guyana for the Agri-Investment Forum and Expo, organized by the CARICOM Secretariat. Prior to the commencement of the proceedings, the Prime Minister of the twin-island Republic held bilateral discussions at State House with Ali.
Present at the meeting was Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance (installed), the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh (installed); the Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha and other installed Cabinet Ministers.
Trinidad was represented by Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, Senator the Hon. D.r Amery Browne, Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Senator the Hon. Kazim Hosein and Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Fisheries, Senator the Hon. Avinash Singh were also in attendance.
The two leaders engaged in broad, extensive bilateral talks and pledged to deepen ties between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. The discussions focused specifically on agriculture, energy, and national security. A Memorandum of Understanding covering these key areas was being finalized.
This meeting appeared to be the general run-of-the-mill meeting between two heads of state, one duly elected and one installed. However, a major diplomatic snafu emerged when it was observed that the Commissioner of Police (ag) was at this high-level meeting.
In a major breach of diplomatic protocol, the acting Commissioner was positioned at the head of the table, where a host would usually sit. If this meeting’s setup is seen in the light of UN and State Department seating protocols, it would mean that the acting Commissioner was hosting the two heads of state and their Cabinet members.
Experts in this field told this publication that statecraft demands that the acting Commissioner should not be present at such high-level meetings, regardless of whether National Security is being discussed. The snafu was so egregious, that the Facebook of the Prime Minister, in reporting on the meeting, did not even acknowledge the presence of the acting Commissioner.
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