GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government Monday urged the local private sector to take full advantage of the business opportunities being presented by European countries.
President Irfaan Ali addressing first ever EU trade mission to Guyana (DPI Photo)Addressing the first ever European Union (EU) trade mission to Guyana, President Irfaan Ali urged the local private sector here to examine “how do we take our existing business model and framework, add European value to it, expand what we have and take it into European markets and other markets”.
He told the two-day event at which 23 companies from 11 EU member countries are participating that Europe also needed to “reset” its business relations with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
He said that such an approach could pave the way for local companies to enter the European market.
Ali said Guyana was busy creating the competitive advantage to expand or relocate services to better expand market opportunities, noting that in the past EU investors had not considered CARICOM countries as a favourable environment to do business.
“Honestly, you viewed CARICOM and Guyana from a narrow lenses based on population and size of economy. Guyana has always had tremendous natural assets but I believe that European investors were not able to capture key moments in time…
“ We are friends, that is why this event today must reset not only the relationship but reset your own strategic thinking on what we can offer you here in Guyana, how we can present a platform for your own businesses to expand and develop,” he said.
The Head of State gone are the days when to speak about Guyana “we had top spend enormous time first of all convicing people that Guyana is different from Ghana.
“Today fortunately, you do not have that task. Today there are questions about Guyana in every single global environment and the story of Guyana is unfolding in every global environment”,
He said Guyana has been growing at an average of 43 per cent “over the last few years…while the rest of the world grew by some two per cent.
“Today you are talking about a country that moved its capacityfrom 1.1 trillion in 2020 to 3.1 trillion in 2022.Those are instrumental numbers and on the issue of oil and gas, a country that is producing at least a million barrels by 2027.
“So you could imagine what will happen with these numbers. But as te moderator rightly said, the oil and gas sector is just the fuel to build what we want to build. A fully diversified economy, highly competitive in every area, leading in all the areas that matters in the future,” Ali told the event.
The EU Ambassador to Guyana, Rene Van Nes said the participating EU companies were selected for their contributions to the priority sectors of the EU Global Gateway, which is the EU’s strategy to connect Europe to the world.
He said those sectors include renewable energy, digital economy with high technology and innovative services, green solutions for agriculture, transport, forest, manufacturing, recycling and waste management, environmental remedies, health, pharmaceuticals and many others. “All sectors are highly relevant for Guyana to achieve its ambitions, as a country and as a regional hub, to lead in energy security, food security and climate security,” he said.
