By Gordon Moseley in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

The highly anticipated meeting between President Irfaan Ali and Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro is set to take place tomorrow in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The meeting which is being hosted by CARICOM and the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States, will take place at the Argyle International Airport in St. Vincent.

Both countries dispatched advanced diplomatic and security teams today, with large media delegations present from both Guyana and Venezuela.

In St. Vincent, the meeting has been dominating local talk radio, with many Vincentians expressing their support of Guyana and its territorial integrity.

The two Presidents are expected to arrive in St. Vincent early on Thursday for their meeting. Both are expected to be accompanied by high level Diplomatic officials.

A number of CARICOM Leaders including the Prime Ministers of Dominica and Barbados are expected to be at the meeting.

President Irfaan Ali has maintained that the issue of the border controversy and Guyana’s case before the International Court will not be up for any dialogue, negotiation or compromise during the meeting. The Venezuelan President believes the meeting could be used as the beginning for discussions on the border issue.

The President of Guyana has said the issue remains correctly before the International Court and Guyana will not be budging from its position on the issue. President Ali has noted that Guyana has not been the aggressive nation in the controversy and has not issued any threats.

Tension has been mounting over the meeting as CARICOM Leaders continue to urge that the region remains a zone of peace. While many CARICOM states have expressed that they are in full support of Guyana’s move to the International Court, some Caribbean politicians believe CARICOM states need to clearly back Guyana on the border issue, and not try to appease both countries.

The Opposition Leader in St. Lucia has criticised the Government there for not standing firmly and openly on the side of Guyana.

In Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, the Opposition there have also accused their governments of not doing enough to make known their displeasure with Venezuela’s ongoing threats against Guyana and the various acts of aggression.

Meanwhile, the international community continue to make known their support of Guyana with the Commonwealth and the OAS both issuing additional statements ahead of the meeting.

President Ali maintains that there will be no budging of Guyana’s position.

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