Aruba interested in trade with Guyana

Aruba’s Finance, Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy Minister Mike De Meza said his country plans to work with the government of Guyana, particularly in the tourism and agriculture sectors. De Meza made this announcement when he met Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud, as part of a two-day state visit in Guyana on Thursday.

The Aruban minister said that his country is looking to initiate trade with Guyana, but noted that this will have to be discussed at the government level.

De Meza said tourism is vital to Aruba’s economy, and is the main contributor to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The small Dutch island, with more than 100,000 citizens, it records some 1.6 million tourists annually.

Aruba remains one of the highest rated tourism destinations in the Caribbean, with possibilities of expansion and further growth. The Dutch Caribbean Island is willing to assist Guyana in improving its tourism industry, and sharing its experiences over the years.

“We would like to also discuss possibilities of exchanging information on alternative energy… We are busy also in Aruba doing studies on looking at possibilities of oil and gas exploration,” he said.

De Meza is in Guyana to visit the oil rig operated by Repsol, which is expected to commence drilling shortly offshore Georgetown. Aruba plans to work with Repsol, in initiating plans for oil and gas exploration in that country.

Given the fact that Aruba is a major importer of agriculture products, the country is looking to make Guyana one of its major suppliers of all agriculture products in the near future.

De Meza said, “Guyana is a very strong agriculture-oriented country, and Aruba is pretty dry when it comes to that. We would like to see what the possibilities are for Aruba to benefit from the agriculture Guyana can provide to Aruba, and create some business relationship between the two.”

Meanwhile, Minister Persaud assured his Aruban counterpart of his government’s commitment to working together in close partnership, to advance all opportunities. Persaud said Guyana will take advantage of the assistance from Aruba, to strengthen its tourism sector. The natural resources minister also committed to providing knowledge on the limited experience of Guyana with oil and gas.

Representatives of the countries soon could meet to discuss other plans relating to trade in agriculture and other products.