The Japanese, Egyptian and Ukrainian envoys to Guyana vowed to strengthen bilateral relations between their countries and Guyana when they on Wednesday presented their credentials to President Bharrat Jagdeo.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release Ambassador of Egypt Ahmed Darwish, Ukraine Ambassador Volodymyr Lakomov and Ambassador of Japan Tatsuaki Iwata will not be based in Guyana.
The Egyptian Ambassador formerly served in the same capacity in New York, Bangkok, and Stockholm and is currently Ambassador to Brazil and Director of the Department for International Conferences. In an invited comment he told GINA his work as ambassador will be “to enhance relations between the two countries in all areas and strengthen coordination on the international scene at the level of the United Nations (UN), the Non-Aligned Movement and the Africa-South America Forum.”
The Forum was last held in November 2006 with the aim of promoting interregional cooperation between the two continents in the area of agriculture, the environment, mining, infrastructure, culture, political cooperation, technology, water resources, tourism, health, education and trade and investment.
Darwish said he will be exploring the possibilities of opening horizons for investments between the two countries and several other areas where collaboration has been non existent. “Investment is very important and it makes the layman feel the importance of the relations. If we have an Egyptian businessman establishing a factory in Guyana then we will have Guyanese workers here who would appreciate that,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ambassador who is resident in Brazil said economic cooperation will be foremost among his efforts. He is the first diplomat from his country to be accredited ambassador to Guyana. Lakomov said during his tenure as ambassador he will bring “some interesting ideas to discuss with our Guyanese partners in the area of ship and machine building, agriculture, production of chemicals and fertilisers. There are also interesting ideas in cooperation of high technologies and we are also interested in increasing our trade and commerce with Guyana.
Right now the trade balance is 100 percent positive for Guyana,” he said, adding “We are buying lots of bauxite for Ukraine aluminum industries.”
After getting acquainted with the local environment Lakomov said he intends to discuss ways of getting more tourists to enjoy eco-tourism possibilities. He said too Guyana and Caricom are promising partners for his country.
The Japanese envoy shared a similar perspective. He previously served in India, Pakistan, Italy, Paris, the United Kingdom and Cuba. Iwata said he is hopeful of more business relations and sustained economic growth with Guyana through the private sector as his main aim is to develop the living standards of ordinary people in society.
Prior to presenting his credentials to the president, the ambassador met Prime Minister Samuel Hinds at his office in Kingston.
