Emir of Kuwait bids farewell to outgoing Guyana ambassador

By Ray Chickrie
Caribbean News Now contributor

KUWAIT CITY -- Outgoing ambassador of Guyana to Kuwait, Dr Odeen Ishmael, recently met with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Guyanese envoy for fostering closer ties between Guyana and Kuwait.

The Emir of Kuwait in his meeting with Ishmael also expressed his optimism for increasing cooperation at political, economic and cultural levels with Guyana.

Ishmael also met with the foreign minister of Kuwait, Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah, who expressed hope that Guyana’s next ambassador to Kuwait will continue to enhance Kuwait-Guyana relations, as Ishmael has done in past three-and-a-half years.

Ishmael was also Guyana’s ambassador to the United States and Venezuela. He will retire at the end of June when he officially leaves his post in Kuwait City.

Ishmael was appointed ambassador to Kuwait in 2011, where he worked diligently to raise Guyana’s profile in the Middle East.

Ishmael, a proponent of Middle Eastern ties, was instrumental in Guyana joining the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a permanent member. This membership and the opening of the embassy in Kuwait, according to the foreign minister of Guyana, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, has improved Guyana’s profile in the Persian Gulf. As results of these activities, Rodrigues-Birkett said that there has been increase in visits and economic interest in Guyana.

“We have also received indication from the Saudi Arabian government that they want to send a team of investors to Guyana and they have invited a team from our end so we are working with them on that,” she said.