'Guyana stands unequivocally with India': Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo

Georgetown, May 26 (IANS) "Guyana, stands unequivocally" with India, the nation's Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo told the visiting delegation of Indian Members of Parliament on Sunday.

"We are against terrorism, and we believe that all those who perpetrate terrorist acts must be brought to justice," Jagdeo said after meeting with the team of MPs led by Shashi Tharoor.

"It was an excellent visit, and I assured the delegation that Guyana, stands unequivocally with you," he added.

In a post on social media platform X, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading a nine-member delegation, here echoed that it was an "excellent meeting" and said that he expressed "strong sympathy and understanding for India's concerns in the wake of recent events" -- the terrorist massacre of 26 people at Pahalgam by Pakistan-linked terrorists and India's Operation Sindoor against terrorism infrastructure based in Pakistan and in areas it occupies in Kashmir.

Monday is Guyana's 59th Independence Day "and we will be present at the midnight speech by the President (Irfaan Ali) tonight," Tharoor said on Monday in an X post.

Emphasising national unity across the political spectrum against terrorism, the team is headed by Tharoor from the opposition Congress Party and includes Shambhavi of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Sarfaraz Ahmad of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Milind Murli Deora of the Shiv Sena, as well as Shashank Mani Tripathi, Bhubaneswar Kalita, and Tejasvi Surya of the Bharatiya Janata Party, and GM Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party, a National Democratic Alliance partner.

The delegation now in Guyana is one of the seven teams of members of Parliament fanning out across the world to convey India's position in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam by The Resistance Front, an affiliate of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba.

After India's Operation Sindoor struck the terrorist headquarters, Pakistan launched an attack on India that also hit civilian targets like places of worship including temples, gurdwaras and a convent, and a medical facility, escalating the conflict.

The Tharoor-led delegation had a meeting with the Indian diaspora.

BJP Tejasvi Surya said on X, "Members of the Indian community at Georgetown, Guyana, welcomed our Parliamentary delegation."

"We also met with representatives of many spiritual organisations like the Art of Living, ISKCON and the Brahma Kumaris," he wrote.

"They serve as the spiritual and cultural anchor for the Indian community here."

During the meeting with Guyanese Vice-President Jagdeo, Tharoor said they also discussed economic cooperation between India and Guyana, a fast-developing country whose rise is fueled by the discovery of oil in its waters.

"Our conversation also spanned a range of topics relating to Guyana's record-breaking 30 per cent annual economic growth and development plans following the discovery of oil and gas," he said on X.

India's High Commisson in Guyana's capital Georgetown said on X that "the MPs delegation elaborated India's position on Pahalgam, #OperationSindoor and the Indus Water Treaty, underlining India's resolute policy of #ZeroToleranceForTerrorism."

Jagdeo offered "Guyana's unwavering support to India's fight against terrorism," it added.

--IANS

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