Dear Editor,
I commend the Guyana Government on the principled position it is taking on a number of international issues, the most recent being its condemnation of attacks on shipping vessels by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea at the United Nations.
The support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian crisis and an immediate end to Israeli aggression in Gaza are also commendable.
One consequence of the disruption of shipping routes in the Red Sea, as in the case of the Black Sea following the war in Ukraine has been an escalation in the cost of food items which has had, and continues to have an adverse impact on the cost of essential food items globally.
Such attacks on shipping routes resulted in disruptions to the supply food chain, higher costs of shipping insurance and increased logistical operational expenditures which ultimately are borne by the consumers.
It is said that when it comes to inter-state relations, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. It is therefore prudent and in our best national interests to align our foreign policies with that of our domestic imperatives, namely the protection of our sovereignty and territorial integrity and also our democratic culture based on free and fair elections and constitutional governance.
Yours faithfully,
Hydar Ally
