– more interest in local investing
New Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Puran Mal Meena says some Indian companies have expressed interest in investing in the mining and agricultural sectors in Guyana and outlined a number of other potential areas for cooperation between the two countries.
He was the featured speaker at the annual luncheon of the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA) held on Thursday at the Regency Hotel on Hadfield Street.
“Other possible areas of cooperation would be in the forestry sector, training and cooperation in small business sector, energy and renewable energy, road construction, tourism, water resource management, construction, gems and jewellery, engineering, oil and gas exploration and mining,” the diplomat said.
“The areas which were mentioned are a reflection of the possibilities of cooperation with our Guyanese partners as Guyana is poised for a phase of significant economic and commercial activity. India stands [firm] in extending its hand in cooperation with Guyana in furthering the bilateral relations in all spheres, including political, cultural, educational, economic, trade and commercial activities between our two countries,” he said.
Meena noted that the relations between India and Guyana have traditionally been “warm and deep” and that India was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Guyana. He pointed out too that India’s Bank of Baroda was the first foreign bank to open its branch in Guyana.
He added that to strengthen bilateral economic and commercial relations with Guyana, India extended a credit line to Guyana in 2004. Meena cited the construction of the national stadium and provision of solar traffic lights in Georgetown as having been completed under this arrangement.
The diplomat added that the supply of irrigation and drainage pumps and construction of a super specialty hospital in Georgetown are among the other areas in which both countries are cooperating.
“Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme we offer cooperation on mutually agreed projects, train Guyanese participants in technical training programmes, depute experts for short, medium and long term assignments to Guyana, offer study tours on the specific request of our partner country, gift or donate equipment and provide disaster relief. Under this programme, we have provided to our Guyanese partners the services of Indian experts in the field of agriculture, in spice development and in coconut production,” said Meena.
He noted that the technical training covers a wide range of areas such as geological survey, information technology courses, web technology, telecommunication, management, small and medium enterprises, mass communication, forensic sciences, parliamentary studies, education and teacher training, labour management, audit services, quality control and standardization, remote sensing, hydrology, textile research, renewable energy including hydro, solar and wind energy technology, rural electrification, planning and management in rural development, water resources management, and oil and natural gas.
“We provide full hospitality to the nominees for such training including airfare, living allowance, accommodation. This year we have offered 25 seats to the nominees of Government of Guyana in our technical institutes. We feel that if fully utilized, this might provide a significant pool of skilled technical experts in Guyana who may contribute effectively in developing the technical and economic potential of Guyana,” the diplomat said.
Meena said that at a multilateral level, India and Guyana are contributing to bringing about improvement in the climate change arena. He said that this year, under the Commonwealth scholarship programme of the Government of lndia, Guyanese nationals have proceeded to India for PhD and post graduate programmes. “The programmes cover a wide range of disciplines like education, business administration, structural engineering, horticulture, agriculture, basic sciences, banking and financial services, management and cyber technology,” he said.
Meena noted that trade between India and Guyana increased to about US$30 million between 2011 and 2012. He said that between April and June 2012, the bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded US$8 million. This trade, he said, included pharmaceuticals, electronic goods, engineering goods, iron and steel products, plastics, chemicals, transport equipment, wood and wood products.
“To support the bilateral trade, Bank of Baroda has opened its second branch in Mon Repos [on the East Coast Demerara],” he said.
