GEORGETOWN, Guyana, May 26, CMC -Guyana is celebrating its 60th anniversary of political independence from Britain, restating its position regarding the border dispute wth Venezuela and declaring the country to be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
President Irfaan Ali, speaking on Monday night at the Flag Raising ceremony held at Essequibo, a 159,500 square mile mineral and oil-rich territory that makes up roughly two-thirds of Guyana, delivered what many political observers said was one of his strongest public statements yet on the border dispute.
“The Essequibo is Guyana’s. It has never been Venezuelan. Nor was it ever Spanish,” he told the ceremony held on Fort Island,, making reference to the 1899 Arbitral Award as the anchor of Guyana’s legal position.
“Guyana has indisputably included Essequibo. It is and will remain Guyanese,” Ali said, noting that the choice of venue for the ceremony is a fundamental truth that the territory belongs completely to Guyana.
President Ali told the ceremony, which was also attended by visiting Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, that Venezuela had publicly declared before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month that Caracas would not accept a ruling in Guyana’s favour.
(Details in Politics section)
CMC/2026