Guyana’s Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, told a forum in the United States on Tuesday that the South American country is looking to chart its own course for economic prosperity and welcomes foreign investment that advances this agenda.
Mr. Gaskin was the keynote speaker at the Baker Institute’s Oil and Gas Development in Guyana forum held at the Rice University in Houston, Texas.
“We want Guyana to be seen as a clean green, sustainable and secured investment destination and that image is going to depend heavily on the tone we set in the early days as an oil producer,” he said.
Mr. Gaskin noted that while Guyana remains open for business, it is important that the investment interests are not done in isolation of the needs of its citizens. He therefore made it clear that, “While we welcome all the interest and investments, you must be cognizant that our people have needs, and their needs are our priority, so we want to work with you, and we want you to work with us.”
The Business Minister also added that “When we speak about Guyana becoming a preferred investment destination we are speaking about a destination that delivers profits to investors in the context of a sustainable partnership with our country.”
In becoming a preferred investment destination, he said Guyana envisions a destination that delivers profits to investors in the context of “a sustainable partnership with our country.”
He underscored that the country is committed to building its own brand. To this end, he pointed out that “We are not seeking to become the new Singapore or the new Norway we want a new Guyana a better Guyana a Guyana that is relevant to the Guyanese people and a Guyana in which young Guyanese can see a bright future that they can be part of.”
Mr. Gaskin was among a panel that included colleague Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, Head of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, Newell Dennison and Schlumberger’s Managing Director of the Caribbean, Sean Herrera.
This event is sponsored by the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies with support from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and assistance from Hughes, Fields & Stoby (USA) PLLC, TOTALTEC Oilfield Services and Relocaring2Guyana.
