President Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday accepted the credentials of Smirnov Nikolay, approving him as the Russian Ambassador to Guyana.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, the ambassador said he is looking forward to continued bilateral trade and investment opportunities.
Nikolay said too some of his focus areas include encouraging the supply of commodities from Guyana that are difficult to find on the Russian market. “I heard that your rum is quite good, exotic fruits among other things. Of course it’s not easy to arrange exportation but in this modern world it’s quite possible,” he said. One year ago, Guyana and Russia celebrated the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in the fields of culture, education and trade.
GINA said the ambassador graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and has since served in the diplomatic service, occupying different posts in the ministry and diplomatic missions abroad. He worked abroad in the embassy of the USSR in the United States from 1974 to 1979 and 1981 to 1988. From 1993 to 1998, Nikolay served as a Consul General of Russia in Toronto, Canada.
Versed in English, Greek and French, the new ambassador also held the post of Deputy Director of the Department of North America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation since 2007.
