Prime Minister Samuel Hinds interacts with Charge d’Affaires of the United States embassy Thomas Pierce (second from right); Indian High Commissioner Subit Kumar Mandal (extreme right); and an official from the British High Commission
Guyana is open to developing the business community and having more Indian investors involved in this development. This was the promise made by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at a reception on Monday night to celebrate the 65th independence anniversary of India.
The prime minister, who is also acting as president, made the statements while saluting India as a country that has walked the path of development since becoming a post-colonial country.
Hinds said India has proven itself to be a country able to weather the challenges of the 21st century.
“There is no doubt that India is a major player in world affairs,” Hinds said. He also highlighted the friendship that has existed between Guyana and India who share a common history.
He noted that the friendship between Guyana and India was founded on cooperation and mutual respect, and “was rooted on the solid commitment to democracy between both countries. It is therefore more fitting for the two countries that arose out of the bonds of colonialism and working to promote economic and social progress, striving to develop a mutually beneficial cooperation.” Over the years, the bilateral cooperation has expanded, Hinds said, with Guyana seeing cooperation in information technology and other sectors. This, the acting president said, has helped significantly in Guyana’s push for development.
The government, Hinds noted, is particularly appreciative of the support given to Guyana via the Indian line of credit scheme, especially in the construction of an Indian specialty hospital.
The recently-concluded Guyana/Indian foreign office consultations have paved a way for more practical programmes of cooperation between the countries. “It is our intention to work with you to capitalise on various initiatives agreed upon in order to advance our bilateral agenda. Government is committed to achieve socioeconomic growth and food security and improved standard of living of Guyanese,” Hinds pledged.
He added that in light of this, the government was inviting more Indian businesspeople to invest in Guyana and use it as a bridge to tap into the Caribbean and Latin American markets.
In the meantime, Indian High Commissioner Subit Kumar Mandal noted that the country made a public call for more students to study in India. India, while known for alarming levels of poverty, is also one of the leading economies in the world for business, technology, and medicine.
Mandal pledged continued support to Guyana in the fields of information technology, health, and education. He added that Guyana like India faces the challenge of realising development even as it strives to be a democracy.
India has shown an 8.2 per cent increase in its Gross Domestic Product during the last five years, and Mandal said the country is propelling towards a nine per cent growth, even as it faces the crippling effects of climate change, rising food and oils prices.
Both countries have been cooperating to increase capacity building to push towards development.
