Guyana’s new Ambassador to Venezuela, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, was formally accredited as Guyana’s Diplomatic Representative in the neighbouring country on Tuesday.

Ambassador Van West-Charles presented his credentials to President Nicolás Maduro at a ceremony held at the Venezuelan Presidential Palace.

A release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Dr. Van West-Charles conveyed greetings from President Irfaan Ali, and the people of Guyana and expressed his commitment to work towards advancing the relations between Guyana and Venezuela. 

The release stated that President Maduro requested Ambassador Van West-Charles to convey a message of high regard to President Ali, stating his great respect for the President and the people of Guyana. 

“The presentation of credentials signifies the commitment of Guyana and Venezuela to uphold diplomatic norms and pursue avenues for enhanced bilateral cooperation,” the Foreign Ministry said. 

In an interview with News Source last month, Ambassdor Van-West Charles stated that he intends to push Guyana’s position to have the Latin America and Caribbean region remain a zone of peace and to restart critical collaborations between Guyana and Venezuela.

“My role is a diplomatic role to work on the basis of the orientation of our government and our Commitment to the Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace and also to look at the collaboration between our neighbors, we need to improve our collaboration for a long time, so it is about how we restart that collaboration,” Dr. Van-West Charles had told News Source.

Dr. Van-West Charles, is taking up his diplomatic posting at a time when there are renewed concerns about Venezuela’s ongoing claims of Guyana’s Essequibo region and its military build-up near the Guyana border.

Tensions flared between the two countries in November and early December, but calmed following a meeting between the Presidents of Guyana and Venezuela in St. Vincent.

The meeting was organized by CARICOM, CELAC and Brazil, and resulted in the Argyle declaration, which mandates that the two countries to maintain peace and do nothing to interfere with the peace or to provoke the peace in the region.

Guyana currently has Venezuela before the International Court of Justice, as it seeks a juridical settlement of the border controversy.

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