The Guyana government is urging French investors to take advantage of investment opportunities in the country as it lauded France for its commitment to combatting climate change and the initiatives taken to address the adverse effects of global warming.
“The government of Guyana has embarked on creating an enabling environment by offering investment opportunities in the key sectors of our economy despite our recent fortunes in the oil and gas sector,” said Prime Minister, retired Brigadier Mark Phillips.
“The government’s policy is to place heavy emphasis on developing our traditional sectors, in particular agriculture. We encourage more French companies to take advantage of investing in Guyana,” he said at a reception in honor of France’s National Day on Monday evening.
Phillips said as Guyana pursues its low carbon economy with the new Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, it will look to intensify its 50-year-old diplomatic relations with France, and high on the agenda will be climate change, an area where the two countries share common concerns.
“Guyana and France recognize the magnitude of flattening the curve of climate change through the development of strategies that have sustainable development at their core. Like France, Guyana is committed to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals in which our people are central to the policies we develop,” he said.
Phillips said there are similarities between the two countries, including in the area of security cooperation.
“On the matters pertaining to security cooperation, we look forward to the implementation of initiatives for technical exchanges and the development of a common security strategy,” said Prime Minister Phillips, who also used the opportunity to highlight Guyana’s future development trajectory, which is based on strengthening traditional sectors and creating new ones.
France does not have an ambassador based in Guyana, but its Chargé d’Affaires José Gomez recommitted to establishing a full-fledged diplomatic presence in Guyana.
Since 2021, France has had a representative in Guyana in the person of Pierre Gaté, but Gomez has noted that interesting avenues are opening up for a ramping up of bilateral relations.
Gomez noted Guyana’s proximity to France’s overseas territory French Guiana on the South American continent, sharing what is referred to as the Guiana Shield.
He said no longer should Guyana look outside the region to distant partners for support, but France increasingly feels the need to strengthen intra-regional cooperation.
“In this context, the relations of French Guiana, and France as a whole, with Guyana are called upon to develop,” he said.
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