President Bharrat Jagdeo On Wednesday accepted Letters of Credence from Paolo Serpi as the new non-resident Ambassador of Italy to Guyana, at a ceremony hosted at the Office of the President.
Serpi said he aims to find common ground with Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and his priority will be to build on the momentum at the multilateral level where there are common challenges and objectives.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, he also referred to the reform of the Security Council at the level of the United Nations and pointed to environmental issues, tourism, and commerce among other sectors where there is common understanding.
In response to a question about the relationship between Italy and Guyana, the ambassador said the absence of an embassy in Guyana is “testimony to the fledgling relationship” between the two countries. Nevertheless, he is looking forward to brainstorming on possibilities for strengthening ties with Guyana through sectors of interest. “In the next few months I would like to identify… other specific issues that can be of interest for this country and I really want to do my best together with the embassy to work concretely on these sectors and obtain results,” he said.
Serpi yesterday was also accredited as Italy’s Plenipotentiary Representative to CARICOM in a ceremony at the organisation’s headquarters at Turkeyen.
Following the ceremony, he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with CARICOM aimed at strengthening political, scientific, and technical relationships and promoting development co-operation partnership between the two parties. Acting Secretary-General of the regional grouping, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite signed on behalf of CARICOM.
The MOU is intended to develop the human resources of CARICOM in areas vital to the development of the economies of its Member States notably in the fields of trade negotiation skills and trade promotion and to develop the scientific and technical capacity of CARICOM, a release from CARICOM said. Some of the other areas identified include Tourism, Agriculture (including livestock, forestry and agro-industry), Fisheries, Mining, Climate Change, Scientific and Technological Research, and Information and Communication Technology for Development and Health.
A Management Committee composed of representatives from both CARICOM and Italy will oversee analysis, revision and follow-up of the MOU as well as of any specific Memoranda which may be concluded arising from the original document, the release said.
“This Memorandum will strengthen the already excellent cooperation existing between Italy and our Region and in its implementation, give tangible expression to the close and friendly relations that the Community and your country have enjoyed for some time now,” Applewhaite said.
She added that CARICOM is particularly apreciative to Italy for its continued sensitivity to the challenges confronting all Small Highly Indebted Middle Income Countries (SHIMICS) that comprise CARICOM membership and extended deep appreciation for Italy’s support for Haiti in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake in January last year, including most recently through the provision of funding to combat the cholera epidemic which has fortunately abated considerably.
