Venezuela and Guyana agree to ‘high-level meeting’ over disputed territory

Hermann Escarra, chairman of the Special Commission for the Defence of Guyana Essequibo, stands next to Venezuela’s new map that includes the Essequibo territory (Matias Delacroix/AP)

The presidents of Venezuela and Guyana have agreed to meet over a sovereignty dispute involving an oil and mineral-rich territory.

Venezuela voted in a referendum to claim Essequibo, which it says was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago, but Guyana has vowed to protect its sovereignty.