Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali Before Their Meeting

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Mr. President, thank you so much for being here today. And thank you even more for the partnership that we've had between our countries. And I have very fond memories of my visit and the incredible hospitality of our friends and colleagues in Guyana.

And we see this partnership in what we're doing together. We see it in the work that we're doing together not only between us but also, for example, in Haiti. Guyana's leadership in CARICOM has been critical. And together, I hope we'll continue to support the Multinational Security Support mission for Haiti, to help our friends there deal with the gangs, deal with the violence, and get on a strong democratic track. And we're grateful for the partnership between Guyana and the United States in supporting those efforts.

We also stand strongly for the territorial integrity in Guyana, and we'll continue to stand with you on that and on so many other things. But thank you for being with us today.

PRESIDENT ALI: Thank you very much. It's an honor to be here again to celebrate our strong partnership, but also to reiterate our commitment, our shared values in the region - the rule of law, democracies, ensuring that we do all we can for the people of Haiti, support for a multinational force, but more importantly, ensuring that the people of Haiti can return to normalcy. The humanitarian effort that is required here is of utmost importance to us and on a bilateral basis a strong partnership continues to be built between Guyana and the United States - expanded trade, great collaboration and cooperation in terms of security. And we are committed to the interests of all of us here in the region. And we thank the United States for the very strong support on sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we look forward to expanding and working to ensure the partnership and to grow and strengthen it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you, Mr. President.

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