Guyana president tours USS Kearsarge
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| Published on Thursday, November 13, 2008 |
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA): President Bharrat Jagdeo accompanied by a team of government officials and other dignitaries on Wednesday visited the United States naval vessel USS Kearsarge which is in Guyana on a two-week humanitarian mission.
The 844-foot long vessel, docked 17 miles off Guyana’s coast, is piloted by Captain Frank Pond and is on its final leg of a four-month journey to various countries providing medical aid and other forms of relief. The ship’s crew will provide medical care to Amerindian communities specifically in Region 1.
Jagdeo, who addressed the delegation and crew members, said he endorses this partnership between the US and the Guyanese military. He stated that Guyana is extremely grateful for the assistance that is being given to its people and stressed the importance of sharing ideas and learning about each other.
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| President Jagdeo being briefed about some of the medical facilities on the US Navy ship. GINA Photo |
The Guyanese leader expressed the hope that the presence of the military personnel in Guyana would allow them to learn more about the country and the challenges confronting countries like Guyana.
He said Guyana is extremely grateful for the medical support because it fits into the concept of what is important to Guyanese. He said often because of the absence of resources many of these important obligations are unfulfilled and this makes the country very appreciative of the assistance it receives which helps in improving the lives of people.
“Healthcare, education, job creation and affordable housing are four of my top priorities… but before you get to these issues and solving them you have to have the resources,” the Head of State said.
Jagdeo also highlighted some of the challenges faced by Guyana which resulted in the country not being able to accumulate wealth. He said during that period Guyana had to borrow from abroad to sustain development and spending which led to a deficit in the provision of services to Guyanese. “So it is in this context that your assistance is so valuable …as we move to provide them (Guyanese) in an accelerated way with the services that are crucial to life and your assistance helps us to accelerate this provision,” the President said.
The Guyanese leader also reiterated government’s goal which is to focus on primary healthcare and to partner with the private sector to provide tertiary type healthcare which is more expensive. He said this is the model that Government is trying to promote hence this type of interaction is invaluable.
The President cited the tremendous political benefits of this partnership since it brings people together and Guyana already has excellent relations at the Government to Government level with the US.
United States Ambassador John Jones who also addressed the crew reiterated the importance of the US Kearsarge’s humanitarian mission to Guyana and expressed gratitude to the crew members for their tremendous input into the expedition. The Ambassador added that he is honoured to acknowledge the work which he is confident the medical team will deliver.
The USS Kearsarge is complete with 1500 crew members and the medical facilities on board the vessel include an operating theatre, pre-operation and post operation rooms and X-ray department. | | | | Reads : 449 |
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