Topic: 2024-The Situation in Guyana
Country: Sweden
Delegate Name: Martinson Arnan
Country: Sweden
Topic: Situation in Guyana
School: Mattawan High School
The current situation between Guyana and Venezuela is an unfavorable one, with conflict going back all the way to 1814, roughly a 200-year span. The situation dates back to a treaty between Great Britain and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in which all Dutch claims were given to British Guinea. This treaty left British Guinea and Venezuela without a border, leading to later conflict. Britain actually came back in 1835, to settle the border dispute, but this did very little to resolve the conflict. In 1841, just 6 years later, there were more conflicts. However in 1899, America tried to solve the issue by forcing Venezuela to subdue the conflicted region to British Guinea; it actually lasted a while, until Guinea gained its own independence from Great Britain in 1966. Unfortunately, more fuel to the fire was added when oil was discovered in the Essequibo region in 2015. You see, Oil is an integral part of Venezuela’s economy. That is the main reason why their Gross Domestic Product is at 105 billion dollars. It’s currently the 12th largest producer of oil in the world. So whenever there’s a chance to gain more, Venezuela will seize to gain the opportunity.
Sweden seeks a peaceful resolution to Guyana and Venezuela’s territorial dispute. Sweden advocates for dialogue and negotiations between the two countries. Although it doesn’t really choose a country to side with, it pushes for peace. Sweden also tends to push for international law, human rights, and peaceful resolution in its foreign policy. Sweden would like to advocate for a solution grounded in international legal principles and respect for territorial integrity. Sweden is neutral and seeks a resolution where both sides are satisfied. However, Sweden condemns Venezuela’s threats to invade Guyana and supports Guyana’s rights to maintain its sovereignty over the Essequibo region.
The Kingdom of Sweden strongly seeks a peaceful solution to this conflict without getting too involved. As mentioned earlier, Sweden isn’t really pushing for a country to actually win; they are currently in a neutral state. But just because they are neutral, that doesn’t mean that they want nothing to happen between them. More than anything, Sweden is a promoter of peace, and it wants to achieve that ultimate goal by any means necessary.
Bibliography:
https://www.worldometers.info/oil/oil-production-by-country/
https://glica.org/glimun/committees/the-situation-in-guyana/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/370937/gross-domestic-product-gdp-in-venezuela/
