GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—President Irfaan Ali on Wednesday said the University of Guyana (UG) would serve as the seat of the National Defence Institute (NDI), which he says is intended to play a significant role in Caribbean security.
“This partnership is about positioning us as a country and as a university, and we want to position Guyana, the University of Guyana, and then the National Defence Institute as the premier regional security institutions,” Ali said.
Ali, speaking at a ceremony to mark UG’s acceptance of the prestigious Perry Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education from the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, said it would be established during the first half of 2024.
He said that the NDI would serve the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Brazil, and that “why not even personnel from Venezuela be part of our security infrastructure from an institutional perspective, from a training perspective.”
Ali said that the aim is to position the University of Guyana “as a central hub” for security training and integration of leaders for security and defense leadership.
He said the NDI would be a “subset” of the United States’ National Defence University. “We find great alignment between the academic curriculum and the strategic thinking of the National Defence University and our strategic vision and strategic thinking as your regional security partner,” said Ali, a William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies graduate.
During his address, President Ali challenged the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Brigadier Omar Khan, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana to convince the Barbados-based Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) to offer a subject on the Fundamentals of Hemispheric Security as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for youths who want to pursue defense and security careers.
“That would allow them an early introduction to how complex security matters are and how important they are in the political economy and how important they are in the structure of society and the building out of society,” he said, recommending that UG and the Perry Centre develop programmes on banking security, cybersecurity, port security, combatting gangs, and conducting joint operations.
In her address to the ceremony, US Ambassador to Guyana Nicole D. Theriot congratulated the University of Guyana for winning the William J. Perry Center Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education.
She said the award “demonstrates the excellent collaboration between the United States and Guyana for the advancement of both our nations and our shared values in support of a prosperous, peaceful region.”
She said that, as a result of the program, the United States government and the Perry Center were ready and willing partners in advising on potential curricula and solutions for addressing Guyana’s security challenges.
“As we reflect on this outstanding achievement, it is critical to remember that the students of UG’s program are the foundation of this success. Their commitment to knowledge and developing Guyana’s future inspires us all.
“The commitment to developing the talent of Guyana to meet the challenges of tomorrow is vital for the continued growth and prosperity of the country and the entire region. With new and more complex challenges occurring every single day, Ukraine, Gaza, the rapid expansion of gangs, and a skyrocketing murder rate in Trinidad and Tobago, to name just a few, there has never been a more important time for these bright, accomplished students to take their place as leaders,” the US ambassador said.
The diplomat also praised President Ali, “himself an alumnus of the Perry Center, who led by example with one of the most complex, distressing security challenges anyone might ever face, the devolving security situation in Haiti.”
She lived and worked in Haiti for several years until July 2022 and knows “firsthand how incredibly difficult that security situation is.”
She said she “desperately hopes” that what was achieved in Jamaica on Monday regarding the Haitian situation “ will be the first step to ending the security and humanitarian crisis in that incredibly fraught country.”
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