Trade and investment mission coming to Guyana

Dear Editor,
The business executives representing some 28 companies and three chambers of commerce on the upcoming trade and investment mission to Guyana next month are impressed with the program of meetings and activities being arranged and are excited about viewing the products and services that will be on display at Guyexpo 2016.
The 30 plus strong team of business representatives of US companies will be in Guyana from May 10-14, for a series of briefings by government, private sector and US embassy officials, visits to the operations of local companies, and one-on-one meetings with government agencies and private companies.
“I am really excited about this mission and look forward to learning more about the business opportunities that Guyana has to offer. Even more exciting is that we get to view at a single event many of the companies operating in Guyana and hopefully will be able to speak with those whose operations fit our interests,” said Gary Arkin, president of Premiere Stoneworks, LLC of Delray Beach, Florida.

The mission will open its formal program on Wednesday, May, 11th with briefings by the United States Embassy to be followed by meetings with the Honorable Dominic Gaskin, Minister of Business and a team from the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest).
The mission will visit Parika for lunch that day to be hosted by the chairman of Ming’s Products and Services, Stanley Ming who will present his Guyana 20/30 plan. Later that afternoon the mission is slated to visit the headquarters of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat for a briefing on arrangements in place for intra-regional and international trade.
On Thursday, May, 12th the mission will receive an overview of the Guyana economy from the Honorable Winston Jordan, Minister of Finance and will later pay a courtesy call on the Honorable Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo. Visits are planned to a number of companies including Global Seafood Distributors and the new Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC) which will host a lunch in honor of the mission. Members of the mission will also attend the opening of Guyexpo 2016.
The companies represented on this mission are involved in a range of sectors and their interests in Guyana cover agriculture and agri-business including shrimp farming; electronic assembly; telecommunications; light manufacturing; infrastructure including road and railway construction (BOOT model); tourism; real estate development including housing development; transportation and logistics; the sourcing of Guyanese products for export, particularly seafood and the supply of raw material, equipment and other products to Guyana.

Another member of the mission, Michael Devin Young, executive director of the Belize American Chamber of Commerce of Florida says that “the program is a very impressive one and demonstrates that Guyana is serious about business. I also find it a very novel idea to include a courtesy call on the leader of the opposition. In the Caribbean especially, it is good to know the thinking of the opposition on business issues.”
Peter Yu, president of US-1America, Inc., who is also a leading member of the Taiwan Business Association of Florida says he and other members of the association are particularly interested in the advantages Guyana can offer in the area of electronic assembly and light manufacturing not only for the local market but for preferential access to international markets under special trade agreements.
“ I am glad that there will be meetings with the necessary officials and with CARICOM to learn more about these agreements and what percentage of the value of products must be local in order to qualify,” he said.

The mission is being mounted by Outreach Aid to the Americas, Inc.’s (OAA) Caricom Outreach Program and the newly established Guyanese American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) Inc.  Chairman of the board of directors of the GACC, Oscar Spencer says the organization views the visit as the first step in a process that hopefully would lead to mutually beneficial business relationships. A retired senior official at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Spencer stressed that job creation is key to Guyana’s economic and social development and “investment and trade are critical to the job creation process.”
Coordinator of the mission, Wesley Kirton is thankful for the assistance being offered by a number of agencies and companies in an effort to make the mission a success.”The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Business and Go-Invest as well as the Honorary Consul in Florida have been quite helpful as have some companies such as Surinam Airways and the Ramada Princess Hotel. A number of government ministers and agencies I am assured will be available for one-on-one meetings with those businesses interested in the tourism, agri-business, public infrastructure, mining and other specific sectors,” according to Kirton.

He also pointed to the unique interest of one company-medical marijuana-which while having legal implications could result in significant job creation and revenue earnings for the country, not to mention the availability of prescribed marijuana based medicines for patients.”
I saw their presentation last month to the Government of Belize and am of the belief that it is worth looking at. I made it clear to the company’s representatives that marijuana remains an illegal substance in Guyana but I see the value of making a presentation to the relevant authorities.
It is expected that they will make the presentation to the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General’s Chambers and even possibly to the general public,” Kirton explained.
Victoria Gordon