British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller has announced that the launch of the British Chamber of Commerce Guyana (BritCham) in London next month is another step towards enhancing trade relations between Guyana and UK.
At a press conference today at her Bel Air Gardens residence, High Commissioner Miller said the launch, which will take place at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground on September 11, will provide Guyanese businesses with an ideal opportunity to connect with businesses in the UK that are in it for the long run.
“The UK has a long relationship with Guyana. Guyana is already the UK’s leading trade partner in the whole of the Caribbean. We have more than £1.6 billion worth of trade last year and we really value that. So, why is the UK an important business partner? I think, there is a number of reasons. Number one, we are reliable; we provide quality services, quality goods ad we also develop long term relationships. We are not fly by nights, we don’t come in and fly, we develop long term relationships,” the British High Commissioner said.
She said BritCham has been instrumental in helping businesses in both Guyana and UK navigate the business environment, and businesses should capitalize on the opportunity.
Guyana’s Chief Investment Officer and Agency Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (Go-Invest), Dr Peter Ramsaroop said as Guyana moves to further diversify its economy, there are opportunities for investment in the areas of Technology, Innovation, Manufacturing, Agro-processing, and Construction.
He said in addition to British companies, the Government would like to see Guyanese based in the UK return to their homeland, and invest in its development.
“But more and more what we are looking for from the British is knowledge in the ITC sector. We believe that with artificial intelligence coming in place, Guyana could be a data centre hub. Data centre hubs need high power, we are going to have gas to be able to do high power. We are looking to move rapidly into the manufacturing sector as the gas comes to shore, and energy cost goes down. Which best country to be speaking to? Countries like England and Great Britain as a whole, and the next phase is into food security, which is the agro-processing. We want to see, our pineapples in a can, that goes to the region. We need that expertise and knowledge from folks that have done it and have done it over and over again,” Dr Ramsaroop explained.
The Head of Go-Invest also said trade missions to London in the past have yielded investments, and he is optimistic that the launch of BritCham in London will yield positive results.
Founding Chairman of BritCham Guyana, Faizal Khan, told reporters that the networking forum is intended to establish strategic partnerships while strengthening trade between Guyana and UK businesses.
“For the businesses in Guyana that are serious about finding partners, finding customers in the United Kingdom, we believe that our event is a starting place. We don’t believe it is the finish product, and I don’t think we will be able to solve all the problems in three hours over the food and drinks, but I think it is going to be a start, and I think some handshakes are going to happen, some introductions will happen, some net-workings are going to happen,” Khan said.
Over 50 influential business owners and decision-makers from Guyana’s leading companies in Construction, Agriculture, Tourism, Energy, Logistics, Education, Engineering, Consulting, Communications, and more are confirmed to attend.
Those companies include GTT / Brava, ExxonMobil Guyana, Farfan and Mendes, Stena Drilling and Guysons Oil & Gas.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Guyana Private Sector Commission (PSC) will also be represented at the event.
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