Government is to create a new information-sharing sharing platform to enhance communication with Guyanese in the diaspora in matters pertaining to investment, remigration and other issues, a Department of Public Information (DPI) media release quotes Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud as saying.
The planned new communication channel between government and overseas-based Guyanese seeking information on ‘events, news and opportunities” at home is part of a broader initiative by government to pursue “more engagements with the Guyanese diaspora” the release said.
The disclosure by the Foreign Secretary, the DPI release said, was made during the course of a webinar staged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation held in Wednesday. The webinar, the release said, came as a follow-up to the country’s first virtual diaspora conference held in May this year.
The DPI release reported Persaud as saying that the recent initiative had been taken against the backdrop of the Ministry’s analysis of the state of affairs of diaspora engagements and its understanding of the importance of the development of a strategy to keep the diaspora engaged. It said that arising out of this a “comprehensive work plan” had been developed “to govern diaspora engagements until 2022.”
“To this end, measures will be implemented to ensure that there is sustained engagement in a holistic manner so that you can be integrally part of Guyana’s developmental process as we move forward,” the release quotes the Foreign Secretary as saying.
Efforts to raise the profile of diaspora engagement have been manifested in recent visits to the United States by government officials including Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Chief Executive Officer at the Guyana Office for Investment, (GOINVEST) Dr. Peter Ramsaroop.
Setting aside efforts to target Guyanese residing in the diaspora for the dissemination on matters pertaining to remigration and investment opportunities Persaud is quoted in the DPI release as disclosing that since its assumption to office in August last year the incumbent administration had its diaspora engagement policy.
Going forward the DPI release adds that government is seeking to host a conference that seeks to target “second and third generation diaspora youth” as well as a diaspora youth volunteer project in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration. (IOM).
