Russian businessmen express interest in Guyana

Businessmen from the Federative Republic of Russia have expressed interest in trading and investing in Guyana.

Russian Ambassador to Guyana, Nikolay Smirnov, made this disclosure during a recent courtesy call on Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) President Komal Ramnauth.

Ambassador Smirnov noted that Russian businesses have shown interest in the areas of oil exploration and gold mining.

The diplomat listed the Linden- Lethem road development project, the development of hydropower and the aquaculture sectors, supplies of passenger hovercraft, boats, and air traffic control and navigation systems as priority areas in which the Russians are interested in cooperation.

Ramnauth pledged GCCI’s support in seeking to develop economic ties with Russia.

He noted that the GCCI would be happy to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia to promote trading activities.

The GCCI has committed itself to exploring ways of advancing the Russian- Guyanese co- operation in the coming months, and to providing the local business community with access to information regarding opportunities on both ends of the spectrum.

Over the past year, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been seeking to improve trade with French Guiana, Suriname, Indonesia and the United States, among other countries, through discussions with various embassies and foreign chambers of commerce.

Guyana and Russia have shared a long history of bilateral cooperation spanning almost four decades.

Three months ago, the Russian government reiterated its interest in providing debt relief to Guyana for the remaining portion owed by the government under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HPIC) Agreement.

Former Russian charge d’ affaires in Guyana, Dr Sergey Tarasov, disclosed that the debt amounts to US$227,000.

He confirmed that the Russian government is finalising the technical aspect of the promised debt write-off to Guyana.

Dr Tarasov told Guyana Times International that once the transaction is completed, the remaining debt, totaling just over US$200,000, would be used on social projects locally.

He pointed out that Russia has already written off 99.8 per cent of Guyana’s debt, and it is just a matter of clearing the country’s debt burden in its entirety.

“Russia has already written off a huge amount of Guyana’s debt, and so it’s just the remaining portion, which is not a significant sum really; so Russia has no problem with that, it’s just the technical aspect that has to be finalised,” Dr Tarasov stated.

Earlier this year, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett revealed that the Russian government had signaled an interest in granting Guyana debt relief.

In August 2010, Guyana decided to abolish the visa requirement for Russian nationals travelling to Guyana.

The foreign affairs minister expressed hope that the two countries would continue to share a mutually beneficial relationship.