The business community in Barbados will soon become more aware of the trading and investment opportunities available in the Republics of Guyana and Suriname.
A seminar to provide in-depth information on the opportunities available in these South American countries will be hosted by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, on Tuesday, October 29, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, at 9:00 a.m.
Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is expected to deliver an address at the opening ceremony.
During the session, members of the Suriname Chamber of Commerce and Surinamese business persons will discuss doing business in that country and speak about current business opportunities in that market.
Presentations on Guyana will be done by the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation, the Barbados Manufacturers’ Association, the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
It is expected that officials from the investment arm of Guyana, Go-Invest, and Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture, will participate in the seminar via video link-up, where they will provide answers to queries from participants.
The presentations will be in the areas of agriculture and agro processing, construction, manufacturing, services and tourism.
Persons interested in attending the seminar should contact Kenrick Daisley at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade at 535-6620 or 535-6646.
Barbados’ Special Envoy to Suriname, Senator Alphea Wiggins, underscored the importance of this seminar, saying it would be beneficial for local business people to learn about the opportunities which are available in these countries.
Senator Wiggins stated that importers of duck meat were encouraged to attend the session, since the duck farmers in Suriname wanted to demonstrate the cooking and sampling of that delicacy.
She added that Barbados was looking to reduce its food import bill and suggested that this could occur with the strengthening of relations among the three countries.
The special envoy believes the upcoming discussions would improve the bilateral cooperation between the countries, leading to stronger and greater relations in CARICOM.
Barbados and Suriname sought to strengthen bilateral relations with the signing of the Brokopondo Programme for Cooperation in November 2018, by Prime Minister Mottley and the President of the Republic of Suriname, Desiré Bouterse.
To operationalize the programme, Senator Wiggins led a mission, which included the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Terry Bascombe, to Suriname from July 22 to 30 this year.
The officials met with Mr. Bouterse, several government ministers, as well as members of the private sector and the Chamber of Commerce. Discussions at these meetings centred on possible areas of functional cooperation.
Senator Wiggins recalled that in July this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade held a seminar at the Cave Hill School of Business, at the University of the West Indies on Potential Investment and Trade Opportunities in Guyana. That seminar attracted over 300 persons from varying sectors.
She indicated that participants at that session had requested a follow-up seminar to delve deeper into issues of concern to them. The seminar slated for Tuesday, October 29 will seek to address those issues by providing the necessary answers to their concerns.
For more information on the seminar on trading and investment opportunities in Guyana and Suriname, persons may click here.