President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali joined United States President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Western Hemisphere leaders on Tuesday for a high-level meeting of the Shield of the Americas, where participating countries adopted a Joint Communiqué outlining measures to strengthen regional resilience.
The meeting was convened by President Trump on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and focused on strengthening cooperation among member states in the areas of economic development, security and multilateral coordination.
The Joint Communiqué establishes three broad areas of cooperation — economic, security and multilateral — while calling for stronger collective action against narco-terrorism and transnational criminal activity.
It also emphasises closer regional cooperation aimed at improving security and strengthening the resilience of countries across the Western Hemisphere.
President Ali attended the meeting alongside Guyana’s Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
The Shield of the Americas brings together the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago.
The coalition was launched by President Trump on March 7, 2026, during a summit with Western Hemisphere leaders in Doral, Florida.
Guyana was represented by President Ali at the inaugural summit, where participating leaders signed the Doral Charter.
The charter committed member states to working collectively to dismantle drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations, address illegal immigration and promote peace and stability across the hemisphere.
President Ali was among only three Caribbean leaders invited to the inaugural meeting. The other two were Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader.
Guyana has continued to emphasise security cooperation as an important component of its relationship with the United States.
Addressing a reception in July commemorating 60 years of Guyana-US relations, President Ali said stronger security ties remain a priority between the two countries.
“That is why we are a founding member of the Shield of the Americas,” Ali said.
The latest meeting comes as member states seek to deepen coordination on regional security while expanding cooperation on economic and multilateral issues.