GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The Guyana government says it remains optimistic of improved relations with Venezuela following the recent elections in that South American country that resulted in the opposition gaining control of the Parliament.

Guyana and Venezuela are embroiled in a border dispute and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon said Cabinet had discussed the results of the recently held parliamentary elections in Venezuela.

The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition won Venezuela’s December 6 parliamentary elections, taking control of the legislature from the governing United Socialist party for the first time in almost two decades.

A government statement issued here quoted Harmon as saying that the Granger administration is optimistic about improved relations and that Georgetown “remains resolute to bringing a final solution to this (border) controversy”.

It said Guyana has already been given international support on this matter after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sparked the new controversy when he issued a Decree declaring an area in Guyana that Venezuela regards as its maritime space.

“Venezuela is seeking to restate a false claim to five-eighths of Guyana, which includes all of the country’s forest and mineral resources as well its exclusive maritime zone. However, the Arbitral Award of 1899 definitively established the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela,” the statement added.