The French Ambassador to Guyana, Olivier Plançon, believes significant opportunities for trade and investment between Guyana and France exist, but trade remains limited due to a number of challenges.

He pointed to opportunities in the areas of Commerce, Agro-processing, Energy, Health, Tourism, Technology and Innovation among other critical sectors, but connectivity appears to be a major hurdle to an improvement of the trade relations between Guyana and France.

“We must not overlook the challenges that still lie ahead. Trade between our countries remains limited particularly due to connectivity issues. The absence of a deep water port in Guyana is a barrier to exchanges between Guyana and Europe, as well as the weakness of air connectivity. However, I would like to commend the efforts of a local airline which is working to establish a route between Georgetown, Paramaribo and Cayenne – actually this is a must and a step in the right direction,” Ambassador Plançon said.

The French Ambassador made the comments while delivering an address at the 34^th Annual General Meeting of the Private Sector Commission.

Ambassador Plançon said the French Embassy is also cognizant of the challenges in accessing the Schengen visa. He said the French Embassy is working to improve the visa application and issuance process. 

“Believe me we are working to ease applications in Guyana. You must be aware that the topic of visa is a sensitive issue in Europe, particularly for this region, for this region because of course I mentioned the trafficking and the transnational crime, but we also know and we respect the fact that Guyana is growing fast, and is not a crime exporter, it is an exporter of opportunities,” Ambassador Plançon said.

Explaining that the Schengen Visa is a gateway to no less than 27 countries, and the process requires coordination with all of them, the French Ambassador assured that the visa application and issuance process is constantly being streamlined.

He said France is well aware that improvements are “needed and expected.”

Notwithstanding these challenges, the Ambassador said the two countries are constantly working to improve trade and investment.

He said the decision to establish a French Embassy here in Guyana was driven by several key factors, including the desire to improve trade and investment and promote sustainable development.

Building on a Trade Mission that took place in July 2024 when a delegation of French Businesses visited Guyana, the Ambassador said the French Embassy is working with MEDEF International – France’s leading private business network – and the local private sector to facilitate another trade mission to Guyana this year.

Ahead of that mission, Ambassador Plançon said the French Embassy has already offered critical support to approximately 20 French companies that have expressed strong interest in Guyana.

A high-level Guyanese delegation, which also included leaders in the private sector, also visited France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain in November 2025 as part of the EU Global Gateway Initiative.

Ambassador Plançon said in France, the opportunities are enormous.

“The main strength of France remains the size of our markets, the capacity for innovation, the quality of infrastructure, the availability of low carbon energy and the quality of the workforce. France offers a highly business friendly environment, the country ranks 10^th globally in productivity while the corporate tax rate was reduced by 8% between 2018 and 2023. France also is the second largest investor in research development in Europe and has positioned itself as a true land of innovation, supported by a plan of 54 billion Euros,” he said.

Ambassador Plançon said the French Embassy will continue to work along with the European Union Delegation, the Private Sector Commission, and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry to improve trade relations.

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