President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali visited U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) December 5 and met with U.S. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, SOUTHCOM commander, to discuss the U.S.-Guyanese bilateral defense partnership and regional security.
The president’s visit is the latest demonstration of the deepening of the U.S. partnership with the South American nation — a relationship SOUTHCOM is steadfastly committed to expanding and strengthening.
President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali meets with U.S. Navy Admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), at the SOUTHCOM headquarters December 5, 2024, in Doral, Florida. (Photo: Mass Communication Specialist First Class Samantha Oblander/ SOUTHCOM Public Affairs)
In addition to meeting with Adm. Holsey, President Ali engaged with SOUTHCOM leaders and staff during a roundtable discussion focused on security in Latin America and the Caribbean, and current U.S. military support in the region.
President Ali was accompanied by Captain (Ret.) Gerry Gouveia, National Security adviser; Brigadier Omar Khan, Guyana Defence Force (GDF) chief of Defence Staff; Colonel Sheldon Howell, Guyana National Intelligence and Security Agency; Zulfikar Ally, Guyana non-resident ambassador to Mexico and deputy chief of Mission to the United States of America; and Colonel Julius Skeete, GDF defense attaché in Washington D.C.
The United States and Guyana enjoy a longstanding defense partnership. The partnership focuses on areas of mutual interest, including countering transnational criminal organizations, maritime security, disaster preparedness, humanitarian assistance, and human rights.
In 2021 and 2023, the GDF hosted the longstanding SOUTHCOM-sponsored multinational training exercise Tradewinds, which included hundreds of defense and security personnel from multiple nations strengthening security partnerships and capabilities in the ground, air, sea, and cyber domains.
Guyana also supports regional humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness efforts and conducts routine training and engagements with the Florida National Guard under the U.S. Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program.
Additionally, President Ali is a Distinguished William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies alum, which recognizes individuals and institutions for their contributions to security and defense education in the Americas. The award is named after former U.S. Secretary of Defense and founder of the Perry Center, William J. Perry.
The visit marks the third to SOUTHCOM headquarters by a sitting foreign head of state this year. Paraguayan President Santiago Peña and Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit both met with leaders at SOUTHCOM this past summer.
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 22:00:00
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