EU prepares for first trade mission to Guyana; urges Guyanese to grab opportunities

Last Updated on Friday, 3 November 2023, 17:08 by Denis Chabrol

At least 20 European companies have signaled their intention to participate in the European Union’s (EU) first ever trade mission under the “Global Gateway” partnership initiative with 150 countries, EU’s Ambassador to Guyana,

“We would have the very first trade mission coming to Guyana and that trade mission is here under the heading of the Global Gateway,” Rene Van Nes told reporters at a news briefing.

The three-day mission begins on November 20, 2023.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association, Private Sector Commission and government’s Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) are collaborating in “match-making”, ahead of the event. The EU Ambassador invited Guyanese companies to contact those organisations about engaging the mission.

In keeping with the Global Gateway initiative, he said a number of big names in the EU’s private sector such as SIEMENS Energy, NOKIA and Energie de France would be part of the mission.  For Guyana, the focus of the Global Gateway initiative is on health, climate, energy and regional connectivity. Representatives from French Development Agency and the Development Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean are also due to attend the trade mission.

“The focus of that mission will be to go into a number of these sectors that I’ve mentioned to explore areas of development, to look for possible partners for investment opportunities and we hope that will lead to very concrete relationships, investments that will materialise,” he said

In the area of health, Mr Van Nes said advances were being made by Rwanda, Barbados and Guyana to manufacture pharmaceuticals here. “We are very happy with the progress that is being made here,” he said. In terms of energy, the EU envoy added said efforts were made to fund the provision of solar energy systems in Guyana’s hinterland. “We’re looking into the possibility of funding more solar off-grid systems in the hinterland,” he said.  The EU, he added, was also exploring ways of improving transportation connectivity in the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Latest figures show that of the 23 companies that are coming, eight are from The Netherlands, two each from Germany and Finland, four from Spain, and one each from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and Italy.