Guyana moving to negotiate investment treaty with Canada

By Michael Younge –

Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said Guyana was seeking an investment treaty with Canada, as Georgetown broadens its investment base.
The minister was at the time making her contributions to the ongoing budget debate in the National Assembly. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett reported that apart from the Caricom/Canada negotiations, Guyana was moving to negotiate and finalise an investment treaty with Ottawa. She said this came about as a result of the need to improve bilateral ties, while securing several external markets.

She explained that the country continues to outperform several countries within the Caricom bloc in the areas of growth, social development, and economic viability, as she shared several research surveys and findings of international organisations about Guyana’s performance.
The foreign affairs minister said that Guyana was not basking in the shortcomings of other countries in these areas, but understood the need for all countries within the hemisphere to work together towards developing the overall progress of their collective economies. Addressing issues more specifically, the minister said that Guyana has over the years been able to implement and pursue a successful foreign policy, which has resulted in significant gains for citizens, regardless of their political affiliations.
Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said the country continued to pursue bilateral ties with Brazil, China, Venezuela, and several other development partners in its bid to maximise the gains secured through the effective implementation of a foreign policy, based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and development.
Brazil/Venezuela relations
She reported to Parliament that the second working session of Guyana/Brazil Technical Commission was expected to be held soon. The minister said that several technical projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and others, particularly in those related to the development of Lethem and several other investment hubs, continue to be the focus of discussions. She said that the focus of government continues to be securing trade and investment from both the eastern and western bound countries.
Addressing Guyana’s ties with Venezuela, the minister said that the development projects and trade agreements with the Bolivarian Republic have yielded redounding positive benefits for farmers, investors, manufacturing entities, and private sector businesses, as well as all Guyanese. She referred to the Petrocaribe agreement and the decision by Venezuela to give US$2 million for the construction of a homeless shelter in Guyana. She noted that Guyana will continue to work with Venezuela regardless of the government that is in power.
Guyana/Caricom ties
The minister also reiterated Guyana’s support for Caricom as its preferred regional integration bloc and admitted that there are challenges which will require more to be done for successful resolutions.
“People expected that we would have been much further in the Caricom project… we have to continue to put our political will where our mouths are,” she explained, as she noted that Guyana leads with respect to meeting its obligation to the regional body. She said that it will continue to lobby for foreign policy coordination, even in light of blistering criticism from the deputy speaker that more should be done to ensure that the region speaks with one voice. The minister pointed the House’s attention to the role Guyana played in calling on Caricom to re-examine a move by the European Union to advance its own cause for special status with the United Nations, without consulting the bloc.