Guyana will continue discussions on Canadian trade agreement – Minister Rodrigues-Birkett

Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said Guyana will continue informal discussions in relation to the Caricom proposed trade and investment agreement with the Canadian government.

The minister noted that Guyana remains committed to talks with the Canadian government to encourage trade agreements and foreign investments with trade partners with a long history in Guyana.

Rodrigues-Birkett noted that there have been issues regarding the reworking of the trade agreement; however, she was confident that continued dialogue would result in positive outcomes.

The minister stated that “Caricom is insisting that the agreement be a trade and development agreement and Canada is insisting that development must not be in the agreement”. She said that this has prompted the Foreign Affairs Ministry to take action and to create dialogue to ensure that Guyana’s developmental needs are not being sacrificed.

She said that as trade and investment agreements are formalised, Guyana will have a greater role to play on the international markets.

Rodrigues-Birkette said Guyana is on the way to ensuring greater export potential in a variety of areas, including the expansion in rice exports within the last few years.

“We negotiate trade agreements because we want to have open and greater access for our country’s exports of goods and services,” she stated, noting that the Canadian government, Caricom and the private sector are all an integral part in fostering development and enhancing trade relations.

As of March of this year, discussions have been underway between Canada and Caricom after the Canada Trade and Development Agreement expired in 2011, and as a result, both the Canadian government and Caricom along with Guyana have been in talks and negotiations for some time.

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana David Devine told Guyana Times International that he would be unable to comment on the issue as negotiations are still underway.

“We would prefer to have negotiations occur and agreements formalised prior to speaking on the subject,” he said.

In 2008, Guyana exported $ 225.1 million in goods to Canada. Some of the exports included precious stones and metals, beverages, mineral ores, fish and seafood, and fruits and nuts.