Birthed from a recent meeting between Guyana President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali and former United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the two English-speaking nations inked a partnership agreement, meant to bolster trade and investment relations, on Wednesday.
Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd signed the agreement with the UK’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jonathan Knott.
In his remarks, Knott expressed that the UK shares Guyana’s ambition for economic growth and plans to be a part of that transformation.
“…with a faster, fairer, greener economy. We share your ambition to build capacity and capability. We share your vision that Guyana is going to become a hub for investment gateway in South America,” he said.
The UK top official is in Guyana with a large trade mission comprising of 11 companies across a wide array of sectors looking to establish ties in Guyana.
On Wednesday, his team interfaced with Guyana’s delegation led by President Ali to discuss areas of deeper participation.
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Ali remarked that the time to capitalise on investing in Guyana, “is now” and he encouraged the UK to grab on to them.
Guyana recently became the UK’s largest trade partner in the Caribbean, after trade between the two nations amounted to £516 million in 2021 – 21.6% of all the UK’s trade with the Caribbean.
This is the second UK trade mission to Guyana; the first was in February and was deemed a resounding success. Out of that trade mission, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Caribbean Council, the longest-established London business organisation.
Just recently, the UK waived the visa requirement for Guyana. Direct flights are set to begin in March next year.
