The outgoing United States Ambassador to Guyana Sarah Ann-Lynch is of the view that it is important for Guyana to strengthen its security apparatus to address crime and other security challenges in order to keep citizens safe and to attract more foreign investment.

Ambassador Lynch, who is wrapping up her tour of duty, told the Jumpstart Morning show on 94.1FM this morning that the US government has been working on a number of security initiatives with Guyana.

Many of the initiatives are aimed at not only professionalizing the Guyana Police Force, but to also keep people on the ground safe.

She said it is critical for investors and for Guyanese to enjoy a good quality of life.

“Investors really want safety, security, predictability as we know. So it is very important and we are working closely to improve that capacity, improve the professionalization of the forces but also to give them tools that they can use on the ground,” the US Ambassador noted. 

Touching on the security advisories that are often issued by the US State Department, the Ambassador said that though such advisories are not limited to Guyana, they are based on careful analysis of the security situation on the ground. She said the goal is not only to keep US citizens safe, but to keep all citizens safe.

As it relates to security of US businesses operating in Guyana, the US envoy said American businesses are encouraged to exercise due diligence.

“We don’t instruct any commercial entities to work with one firm or another, what we do is give them broad information and allow them to do their cost benefit analysis and determine who should be their partners but we do encourage all US business to exercise due diligence, to do their home, come with a plan and have a vision for what you want to do and then engage with a local partner,” Ms. Lynch said.

The US Ambassador also explained that Maritime Security is another important area in which the US government has been working to improve with Guyana.

 She said the Guyana government has been seeking help in particular from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to tackle the issue of Guyana being a transshipment point for drugs and other illegal activities.

“Guyana has been asking us for additional help in that area because they really want to get a handle on being a transit country for drugs and I know aerial and marine interdiction are important to Guyana, so having a full DEA unit in Guyana is terrific and we are very happy about that,” the Ambassador said.

The US Ambassador said a number of security and other agreements that were signed between Guyana and the US under her watch, are being implemented.

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