The Guyana Government intends to place significant attention on “Defence Diplomacy”, as it works to build up the country’s security architecture through partnerships.

In his address at the Annual Police Officers’ Conference on Thursday morning, the President noted that the security architecture of a country is the bedrock through which development, sustainability, resilience and progress can be achieved.

“So, in the coming days and weeks, you will see us moving to defence diplomacy, strategic positioning as against strategic planning. Strategic planning is just but a component of strategic positioning…So we will be focusing on strategic positioning, which will be dealing with a lot of analytical capacity, in advising policy makers on strategic partnerships, assessing our local, regional and international environment,” the Head of State said.

President Ali said that the country will continue to expand its reach beyond borders while establishing dynamic relationships with countries around the world to build a security architecture that is modern, realistic and relevant to the needs of Guyana and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

He explained that the Guyana Police Force has been performing commendably under the leadership of the acting Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, with significant progress recorded.

“I am not dissatisfied with the performance of the Guyana Police Force over the past year. I have seen evidence of improvements; I have seen admirable leadership by the commissioner and his team,” the Head of State said.

The President said he was most impressed with the outstanding work the Police Force has done in championing social issues.

“To see officers and their ranks cleaning medians, painting roadways, building houses, delivering hampers, cleaning drains, walking in community, talking to every section of the Guyanese people is most admirable. Policing is not walking around with guns or with a face that people is displeased to see, policing is exactly this, presenting a face that is approachable, a face that represents trust, a face that represents compassion, but also a face that represents the sternness and respect that the law requires. That’s the complexity of policing,” President Ali said.

His commendation comes as the tenure of the acting Police Commissioner winds down.

Mr Hicken, who was appointed acting Commissioner of Police in March 2022 under a cloud of controversy, is facing retirement this year.

But the President noted that there’s still a role for retired officers under his leadership.

“I want to position to you today, that a new Guyana will be looking at every officer, your next earthly life beyond this police force will be presented to you on a number of things. It will be driven by your performance, fuelled by your professionalism and importantly focused on your delivery. So, if you believe that you want to play a role in the future, after the retirement of your uniform, and not you, then, you must continuously exhibit what I just spoke of. To do that, you yourself has to remain relevant, and we are going to be building a system that rewards this,” President Ali said.

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