Kathy Smith, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), has made it clear that there has been no break in business operations in Guyana due to Venezuela’s increasingly aggressive posture regarding its claim to Guyana’s territory.
Speaking on a panel at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) this week, Smith said, “From the private sector standpoint, there has not been a break in our operations in Guyana.” She said while international headlines may paint a worrying picture, “information can be distorted”.
“Our country continues to grow,” Smith stated. “The private sector welcomed the last budget by the Government of Guyana, around US$6.6 billion, which showed a vast increase from last year’s budget across all sectors, not just oil.”
She emphasized that the private sector remains confident in the government’s approach, pointing out that the Venezuela matter is being handled at the international level through legal and diplomatic channels. “Business as usual, as we would say,” she added.
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Venezuela and Guyana have been embroiled in a territorial controversy over the Essequibo territory for several decades. Since large deposits of oil was found off the Guyana coast in 2015, the Maduro regime has grown increasingly aggressive. Venezuelan troops have been amassing at Guyana’s western border and its navy have intercepted oil vessels in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone.
U.S. oil major ExxonMobil has said its exploration and production activities offshore Guyana continues uninterrupted.
The matter relating to the border controversy is currently before the International Court of Justice. The substantive case centers on the 1899 Arbitral Award, which legally determined the boundary between the two countries. Venezuela, after accepting the boundary for decades, declared the award null and void in 1962 and has since claimed over two-thirds of Guyana’s territory in the Essequibo region.
Smith is inviting potential investors to “go read up on us, see the areas that you want to invest in, and do come.”
