MINISTER of State Joseph Harmon on Thursday received a courtesy call from a visiting Norwegian delegation here to meet with their counterpart agencies to discuss Guyana REDD+Investment Fund (GRIF) projects, at his office at the Ministry of the Presidency.Guyana’s Office of Climate Change and the Project Management Office for the GRIF Project both fall within the minister’s purview.

Minister of State Joseph Harmon greets Hege Ragnhildstveit, Senior Adviser, Government of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative

The team was led by Hege Ragnhildstveit, Senior Adviser, Government of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative and included Tron Lovdal, Senior Adviser, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Department for Climate, Energy and Environment and Ane Marit Lid, Adviser, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, while Minister Harmon was joined by Presidential Advisor on the Environment, Rear Admiral (ret’d) Gary Best and Nikolaus Oudkerk, from the Project Management Office, Ministry of the Presidency.
The Norwegian delegation will hold talks with their counterpart agencies on the GRIF Projects development, challenges, implementation and scheduling with the Project Management Office (PMO) and other matters connected to the Guyana-Norway Agreement.

The delegation will also meet with other connected agencies, such as the Guyana Forestry Commission, the United Nations Development Programme, the Inter-American Development Bank and civil society. The GRIF projects are at different stages of implementation across Guyana.

In an invited comment, Ragnhildstveit said that the meeting was fruitful and appreciated.

“The Minister of State was very kind to receive us this morning and it was very encouraging to hear his remarks that Guyana appreciates the cooperation with Norway. The Minister of State is very concerned about Guyana’s rainforest and the people who live there, as well as the importance of combating climate change,” she said.