President David Granger: Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Moses Nagamootoo; Honourable Dawn Hastings-Williams, Minister of Public Affairs; Ministers of the Government; Members of the National Assembly; His Excellency, Ivan Roberto Sierra-Medel, Ambassador of Mexico to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Mrs. Sierra-Medel; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Members of the Mexican Community; Distinguished Guests; Members of the Media; Ladies and Gentlemen.
I’m happy and honoured on behalf of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to join in celebrating the 207th anniversary of the independence of the United Mexican States. We convey our heartfelt congratulations to His Excellency, President Enrique Peña Nieto and to the Government and People of the United Mexican States. We recall the Grito de Dolores, the battle cry for the war for independence, uttered on the 16th September, 1810, as an event that is worthy of celebration by the Mexican people. We recall also, that the war of independence began with the vision of establishing an independent state in the new world to replace the imperial vice royalty of New Spain that had been created by the old version.
Mexico today is an influential member of the Western Hemisphere of States, the Americas and the Circum-Caribbean. The people of the Caribbean share the pride of Mexico’s achievements over the past two hundred and seven years. Guyana and Mexico have enjoyed excellent relations since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations on the 1st March, 1973.
These relations are founded on the mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, cooperation for mutual benefit, respect for treaties and international law and the maintenance of international peace and security. Guyana deeply appreciates the cooperation it has enjoyed from Mexico in agriculture, in culture, in education, in energy generation, geographical information systems, trade and other fields.
Your Excellency, I commend you personally for your inexhaustible and energetic and enthusiastic efforts in advancing cooperation in these fields. Mexico also is becoming an emergent market for Guyana’s paddy and rice as you heard from the ambassador. We look forward to the expansion of trade in these and other products.
Your Excellency, Guyana is moving towards the establishment of a ‘green state’; one in which we place emphasis on the perseveration of our biodiversity; on the protection of our environment, on the provision of ecotourism and eco-educational services, on the promotion of renewable energy generation and practical measures to ensure climate adaptation. Guyana in this regard, remains committed to extending its collaboration with Mexico to include the preservation of biodiversity and the generation of renewable energy.
Climate change is the major environmental threat to our era and one that affects the entire earth to spawn extreme weather patterns, rising sea levels, which continue to inflict severe damage on the economies of small island developing states and the low-lying coastal states just like Guyana. The plight of these states is compounded by death and destruction caused by other environmental hazards.
Your Excellency, Guyana takes this opportunity, in the wake of recent environmental catastrophes, to iterate its expression of sympathy to the Mexican Government and people on the death of persons and the damage and destruction of property experienced in the wake of the earthquake on the 7th of September in your country.
Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to join me in proposing a toast to the continued good health of His Excellency, President Enrique Peña Nieto and for the continued progress and prosperity of the Mexican people.
I thank you.
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