A Statement of Intent for cooperation on energy was on Thursday signed between the Governments of Guyana and Chile. The signing between Guyanese Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and Ambassador and Under Secretary of Chile’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Alfonso Silva Navarro, took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on the sidelines of 39th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government.
The Statement of Intent provides a framework for the deepening of collaboration between Guyana and Chile by promoting the exchange of experiences and cooperation in the energy and mining sectors.
Speaking to the agreement moments after the signing, Minister Greenidge told media operatives that Guyana has been developing closer ties with Chile and has been looking to benefit from that country’s knowledge and experience in the extractive industries.
“The agreements that were signed this morning concern energy and natural resources, so that is one agreement which makes provision for enhanced cooperation in that area. Chile has capacity as well in the area of petroleum,” he divulged.
This collaboration is as a result of visits between the Heads of State of the two countries. “We’ve been doing a number of things, especially after the visit of the President of Guyana to Chile and the reciprocal visit by the Former President of Chile to Guyana. As a consequence of those collaborations, we have been working on areas of cooperation,” Minister Greenidge stated.
A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the two countries which seeks to lay the foundations for the Foreign Service Institute and the “Andrés Bello” Diplomatic Academy to maintain regular contact and promote cooperation between them on the basis of mutual benefit and reciprocity to further cooperation on the training of diplomatic officials from Guyana and Chile.
