Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman represented Guyana at the fifth Korea-Caribbean Forum held in Seoul, South Korea last month.
The meeting hosted under the theme “Enhanc-ing the Korea-Caribbean Partnership in the field of New and Renewable Energy” addressed the topics of climate change and disaster management and focussed on the opportunities for new and renewable energies available to the Guyana and the Caribbean through Korea.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) release Trotman held private discussions with Korean government officials, and manufacturing executives with an aim to inviting a delegation to Guyana in the near future to develop opportunities for both government and private sectors in the country. He noted that the timing of the forum was beneficial to Guyana as it shifts to a green economy, Korea could serve as an excellent model since it is a renown-ed developer and utiliser of alternative energy technologies.
Trotman disclosed that Korea is committed to bringing these new technologies to the Region, operating either on an individual basis with Carib-bean countries or bilaterally through the Caricom Secretariat.
Delegates from Antigua, Dominica, The Bahamas, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Vincent, St Kitts & Nevis, Suriname and the Caricom Secretariat, held discussions on policy matters pertaining to energy and climate change, interacted with manufacturers and stakeholders and toured several renewable energy generating sites including a range from hydro to solar and bio-mass power generation.
The Korea-Caribbean Forum is jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Energy Agency and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The inaugural convention was held in 2011 where development strategies, international collaboration and cooperation for green growth between the Caribbean and Korea was discussed. E government, marine environment management and new and renewable energy were examined at the second meeting in 2012. The third forum focussed on viable and productive ways to increase cooperation between the two regions, particularly in the area of tourism, and last year’s meeting reviewed the progress made since 2012 and discussed opportunities to further strengthen and extend the partnership.
