Diálogo was present at the annual South American Defense Conference (SOUTHDEC), where regional defense leaders gathered to explore modern security tools to face common threats and strengthen interoperability and relationships. During the two-day event held in Santiago, Chile, in late August, Diálogo had the opportunity to speak with Brigadier Omar Khan, chief of Defense Staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), who addressed expanding the force to meet the current security challenges through human development, training, infrastructure, and asset acquisition.
Diálogo: You celebrated your first year as the chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force. What have been your greatest challenges and accomplishments?
Brigadier Omar Khan, Guyana Defence Force chief of Defense Staff: It has been a remarkable and interesting journey. We have done quite a lot, but of course, there are so many areas still to be addressed. So far, I’m happy with the pace of how things are unfolding. As for my greatest challenge, I was able to articulate our country and the borders that we share with three of our neighbors, Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname. It remains a challenge for us to effectively monitor our border, but having said that, I believe Guyana, as an oil producing nation, brings on additional challenges, but also opportunities on shaping the force now and preparing it to protect and address issues that will unfold in that kind of environment; that is an oil producing nation. I have a wonderful team back at my headquarters and we are working on several projects that will see the force transforming. First, with the mindset of preparing the defense force for the future, we continue to subscribe for a region to be peaceful, stable, and for us to have a network with our strategic partners. This conference, SOUTHDEC, will continue to foster our relationship with our other colleagues in the various countries in this region.
Diálogo: The Guyanese government allocated funds for the GDF in its budget for 2024 for increased investments in both material and human resources. What are some of the key focus areas?
Brig. Khan: I would say my commanding chief, his Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has a national vision for the country in its developmental trajectory. Within that framework of developing the country, there is also a key component of defense and security. Understanding how development unfolds and what is required to create the environment for that development, that direction, is important. I’m equally happy under his leadership that defense and security have taken a significant role. Our budget has increased almost 100 percent, and of course that is relative, and we anticipate that this will continue in the same direction. Our human resources capital is an important part; training has been expanded to cover key areas to help the force develop. It is my view that the acquisition of assets will continue, but acquisition of assets, air, land, and sea does not mean a capability. You still have to have that human resource to optimize the deployment and use of those resources so that you could have a capability per se. So, the forces, the budget increase is fixed toward human development, training, infrastructure, and asset acquisition.
At the end of this, Guyana remains a peaceful nation. We are only procuring the necessary equipment and assets to protect and defend its assets and its resources. I had the opportunity last year to address our strategic three prong approach, that is: awareness, adaptability, and agility.
First, you have to have that understanding of the environment, what unfolds, what is occurring, the challenges and opportunities. Now, awareness is important, as a defense force we need to optimize our awareness. Asset acquisition in that regard has commenced and, with respect to adaptability, asset also has been acquired. We received our first marine vessel from Metal Shark, a U.S. company. We’ve been working with our U.S. partner, and we’ve received that ship a few months ago. It has already been deployed to our police exclusive economic zone. Additionally, we recently signed a contract with France for the acquisition of an ocean patrol vessel and that is on stream, and we continue to work with other partners.
Diálogo: The GDF and U. S. forces, such as U.S. Army 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, as well as Guyana’s partners under the state partnership program, the Florida National Guard, and U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) have been conducting several engagements to strengthen capabilities at the tactical and operational level. What have been the focus of these engagements, and which has been the most beneficial?
Brig. Khan: I must say on the outset, the United States remains a very important and strategic partner, both at the country level and at the defense and security level. I’m happy that we continue our engagement on multiple fronts. It is not in any way unfamiliar that we’ve been training for many years with our U.S. counterpart. what we have seen, however, is an increase in those training activities. We have had training over the past year at the tactical level, at the operational level, and their strategic engagement on how Guyana is poised to become, and already is, an oil producing state and what the strategic implications are. I believe there are many opportunities for us to continue along this path. The United States remains a very important strategic partner.
Diálogo: In July 2023, Guyana became the 13th nation to join the SOUTHCOM’s Human Rights Initiative, committing to human rights engagement, cooperation, and integration. What advances have been made in this area so far?
Brig. Khan: Human rights are an important part of who we are. We can be the most potent force but your human rights track record must support your professionalism, how you serve the people, serve your nation, and ensure that you create an environment for people to live in prosperity without fear. Those are important tenets. As a defense force, we saw it as a critical component of supporting and enforcing our human rights so all of our training would have human rights modules. Becoming the 13th nation to join SOUTHCOM’s Human Rights Initiative is a small step in our regional objectives, and we hope that other countries will sign on so that we can share those same values, training, and help make our region a better place.
Diálogo: In March, while delivering remarks for the Perry Center Award for Excellence in Security and Defense Education, awarded to the University of Guyana, President Irfaan Ali said that cybersecurity is becoming a major threat and urged the University of Guyana and the GDF to craft training programs to protect the digital environment. What are some of the advances in cyber defense and what kind of cooperation agreements do you have with partner nations?
Brig. Khan: That’s an important part of the defense force mandate, and I’m happy about the progress made. Of course, there is room for improvement; we are a subset as a defense force to the national efforts that spearhead our cybersecurity strategy. We’ve continued to work with our partners again here, U.S. Southern Command, and all the subsidiary forces, and we have been able to progress in that direction. I’m satisfied for Guyana, which, again, is becoming an oil producing nation. Information and communication technologies (ICT) will play a critical role in supporting the services that we are going to embark on and that will be an important endeavor for us as a defense force, to have the necessary preparation, the necessary safeguard framework, and environment to protect our assets.
Diálogo: In keeping with the restructuring of the force, your title Chief of Staff will become the Chief of Defense Staff starting next year. What other big changes is the GDF undergoing?
Brig. Khan: My appointment as Chief of Defense Staff was ratified by the Guyana Defense Board and shared by the President. My official appointment is Chief of Defense Staff. This is part of how we are going to transform the force. I believe in some aspect that the responsibility, the additional scope of work, by way of my defense act within the legislation, I have operational responsibility for the force, will remain at the core, but we will have some other engagements that will see me having a role in how the force develops for the future.
Diálogo: In late 2023, the Maduro regime carried out military exercises along the border with Guyana. What has been the greatest challenge for the GDF in securing its border with Venezuela?
Brig. Khan: Venezuelans are beautiful people. They are people like you and I, who have aspirations for a better life, for their families, who want to get a good job, not have to worry about bringing food to the table, and have access to education. They are like us, and I would like to digress a bit to explain that peace and security is a framework that is supported by an ecosystem. That ecosystem covers a spectrum of activities, governance, human rights, security, and how we operate, and there are several players. Every country has a responsibility to contribute and compliment that ecosystem. When one falls off, it creates an imbalance in the ecosystem. So, we must work now to ensure that we help Venezuela, with the understanding that there are a lot of areas that we can work on. There are so many things that can disrupt who we are as a people, and we cannot do it alone. So, we need everyone to be part and parcel of that. I’m optimistic that even with the challenges that are unfolding in Venezuela, that there are opportunities to make it better. Our government, my commanding chief, has taken a position that is humanitarian in nature, so Venezuelan migrants moving to other countries, including Guyana, have been accommodated where possible. Venezuela is an important part of that ecosystem; we cannot afford an imbalance in that system, and I’m happy that within the South American continent, Venezuela, could have the help it needs by all the countries working together. I’m optimistic.
