Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Robert Persaud and newly accredited Brazilian Ambassador to Guyana, Lineu Pupo de Paula discussed strengthening co-operation on mining and other issues, when the envoy paid a courtesy call on the minister on Monday.
In his remarks, Persaud told the ambassador that he was pleased with the bilateral relations between the two countries and he hoped for greater cooperation. The minister also spoke of the “overwhelming in-crease in the number of Brazilians coming to Guyana,” a report from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. He remarked that Brazilians have made a significant contribution to the mining sector and given that his ministry has responsibility for mining and the environment, Persaud said he is looking forward to working with them to strengthen the sector.
“We have always valued the investment and the technology transfer of Brazilians to the mining sector. In fact, we say that the modernisation of our own gold mining sector came about when we had the introduction of Brazilian technology and Guyanese were able to develop those and look at other alternatives,” he said.
The minister asserted that the mining sector is monitored very closely and gave assurances that government is taking every step to address pollution. “We are committed to the Minamata Convention which deals with the eventual removal of mercury from the mining sector and through the GGMC and the Environmental Protection Agency we have developed a code of practice, we have the necessary regulations in place so as to manage and detect, and to deal with when those issues when they come up,” he said.
According to GINA, the ambassador expressed similar sentiments about working in the area of capacity building in the mining, environmental and forestry sectors in term of sharing satellite imagery.
De Paula pledged his government’s support towards these and other mutually beneficial projects in the mining sector.
He also discussed the timely availability of work permits for Brazilian nationals and the increasing number of Guyanese who are showing interest in learning Portuguese. The ambassador said too that the shortage of teachers for the Portuguese course at the Brazilian Institute is being addressed.
