Delhi, 12 December (HS): India is keeping an eye on the border dispute between South American countries Venezuela and Guyana leading to military conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs said here on Tuesday that “we believe that this issue should be resolved peacefully and tense steps should be avoided”.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement welcoming the recent regional diplomatic initiative to reduce tensions. The ministry says the case is already being considered by the International Court of Justice. Guyana has a large number of people of Indian origin and India has strong relations with Guyana. From this point of view, the developments there are a matter of special concern for India. The bone of contention is Guyana’s densely forested Essequibo region, which Venezuela claims as its territory. Venezuela claims two-thirds of Guyana.
A referendum has been conducted there for this. The Venezuelan government claims that 95 percent of people polled supported the action, supporting this claim.
The current cause of dispute is also the ocean area adjacent to the Essequibo region, in which large reserves of oil have been found in the past few years. This has led to Guyana’s economic progress over the years. Along with the claim on the area, Venezuela will also get rights on these oil fields.
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